Pocket Book of Tales
by CretianStar
Summary: Another collection of one shots, with all pairings! AU and canon, an absolute mixture of Descendants themed stories. Previously: An Auradonian Grimoire Taking requests for D3 etc now.
1. Disgrace

A/N: Guess who's back. I've taken five months out (right down to the day), and now this witch is back, and there's hell to pay. Here's hoping that I put a spell on you. Of course I will take requests, of course of course, where would I be without you guys.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Well mother, I was an absolute disgrace. To you, and the Isle." Mal's musing was out loud. As she stared at herself in the final fitting of her wedding dress, Evie had seen the emotion on her best friend's face and shooed away her helpers. Squeezing her hand once, she followed her minions out and waited until Mal was ready for her again.

Mal stared at the three reflections who all stared back at her, each with an identical, unrecognisable emotion on their identical faces. Mal couldn't place the emotion roiling inside of her but she let it flood through her system with a sigh. She had spent far too long quashing her feelings, and instead she let this one take control. Glaring at the woman in the white wedding dress, she recognised the glitter of tears in her eyes and she sat heavily on the sofa usually reserved for the mother of the bride. Hers had been conspicuously empty – occasionally filled by Belle, but it wasn't the same.

Then again, Mal was never bred for marriage, she had been bred for the sole reason of becoming Mistress of the Universe. Instead she was tapping her bare toes against a luxurious carpet, surrounded by rolls of beautiful fabric and sitting in an exquisite wedding dress… and she'd never felt better.

Sure there were moments when her temper took her, but Ben's did the same. Their rows were deafening, but by now the servants had learnt to weather them and walk away. Lonnie had tried to pull them apart once, but had been hauled back by Evie who let the two of them hurl abuse at one another until they were tired. Evie had taken a protesting Lonnie out of the room and let Mal and Ben shout their fears and frustrations away. It always worked. In the heat of the moment, they shouted the fears they kept trapped inside, and the other would realise where the defensive anger rested, which nerve had been hit, which sore spot trodden on. They would fix things, every single time. Sure, some had taken days to resolve, but they had never left an issue broken or festering.

Which is why Mal was elated to feel the white fabric slinking around her body, she stood and twirled barefoot, she laughed and danced, lifting the hem and tapping a jig she hadn't danced since getting drunk in Happy's Happy Hour Bar.

"Oh Mother, I failed you so unbelievably hard and you have no idea how delirious it makes me. I am a Queen alright, but a Queen of Auradon by marriage. I am in love with the Son of the Beast, the Crown Prince, the King, the heir to King Adam's throne. I stole him from Sleeping Beauty and in return she found love elsewhere, a true love not a facsimile sham. Oh Mother I am practically a Godmother." Mal crowed and there was a cough which had Mal spinning to face the door.

"My dear, if there is one thing I cannot permit you to be, it's a Godmother. You are far too prone for pranks, even at your age." Fairy Godmother herself stood in the doorway, beaming at the bride. A broad smile that made her eyes crinkle and any awkwardness Mal may have felt melted when Fairy Godmother took her hands.

"I'm far too naughty for Pure Goodness anyway." Mal admitted with a shrug.

"Yes, but you make a wonderful sorceress, and that is your perfect calling. Now something else to add to the perfection, every princess needs a godmother's touch. You already have your Prince so I have no need to supply a route to our darling Ben, but I think this might be the thing for you." Fairy Godmother chattered as she took Mal back to the couch and upon a pillow placed over her knees she dusted her magic. A filigree fine tiara appeared where her magic rested, slowly taking form and building. It was wrought of thorns, roses and dark amethysts studded throughout, over her knees draped the veil that Ben would get the joy of wrestling with.

"You can come back in now E." Mal called over her shoulder and heard the squeak as Evie stared in wonder at the jewelled work.

"It's so beautiful, and the dress will compliment everything about, I told you working thorned roses into the lace was worth it." Evie said breathily and Mal shot her a look.

"Doug said you stayed up for weeks with that particular task." She huffed. "You got no sleep and almost fell flat on your face Aurora style in Fashion Week, I have not been forgiven by your beau." She said archly and FG smiled.

"It's to compliment Evie's work." She admitted. "Doug told me of her effort, and well I had to change the design for it." She shrugged and watched as both women stared at her in amazement. "You're about to become the Queen Consort of Auradon, but you need to show your own spirit during that ceremony." She nodded to the spot in front of the mirrors. "Now up missy, I need to adjust the veil length."

Mal gave herself up to the joy of fussing over her dress and look, the length of the veil and the feeling of being a bride.

Her mother would curse her if she was ever to see the disgrace she had become.


	2. Fire

A/N: Hello again, have a short little nibble of the bad side of the Isle.

* * *

His skin was aflame, he felt the fire in his blood, it ripped through his body and he had never felt better. Any pirate worth his salt knew that flames were dangerous aboard a ship, but the fire ripping through his body could gladly sink the Jolly Roger with him aboard, as long as she was with him. Taking her roughly in his arms, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and the kiss felt like it lasted hours. The grip of the flames urged him closer, closing any tiny gaps, the pair melded against one another and devoured each other.

It was a high unlike any other and he had been unable to part himself from her. When he had clapped eyes upon her he had fallen like a fool under her spell; what she hadn't been expecting, was to fall for him as well. He was intoxicating, he was addictive, he was her downfall and honestly there wasn't a sweeter pleasure than the feeling of him wrapped around her. With startled gasps, the pair drew back for air, breathing sharp, their eyes roved over one another and he felt his knees give slightly when she smirked.

"You've missed me?" It would have been more imperious but her voice was breathy and weak, her words caught in her throat and she was still entwined in his grasp.

"More than you can know pet." His huskiness sent a bolt of fire to her core and she shifted impossibly closer.

"I don't think that's the right title…" She drew back, smiling when she followed, she turned her head from his kisses, though it killed her inside, but far from being deterred, he then peppered them down her throat, her braids moved with a quick swipe with his hook. Harry Hook always knew her weak spots, it was a moment of trust she had never truly forgiven herself for, but Harry protected her with all he had and she did the same. So as his teeth nipped her throat she all but purred from his ministrations.

"Now, _Captain._ " His throaty use of her title made her head spin and Uma realised she had briefly stopped breathing. "I think you've missed me just as much as I have missed you." He growled, biting her earlobe before claiming her mouth once more. Allowing him the power for another moment, or minute, Uma wasn't exactly counting, she drew back and smirked again.

"Oh I have missed you, but I want a status report on what that festering worm was doing on her side of the Isle."

"I'll give you the report later, right now I need to prove my loyalty."

She gave him a sharp look, that would send other sailors running from her, but when she aimed it at Harry, it fell flat and instead he gave her a lazy smile.

"That won't work on me darlin', your looks burned me a long time ago." He pulled his sword from the belt and threw it behind him.

"Is that so?" She murmured.

"Aye Captain, and I know the fire burns in your blood as it does mine." Status reports were forgotten as he practically devoured her, and they soon lost themselves to one another.


	3. Floating

A/N: Because my other upload is fairly depressing and not at all lovey-dovey, I thought I would Christmas gift you all with an upload on this story as well, to maybe brighten the mood a little!

Merry Christmas Eve!

* * *

It was a terrible thing to be unanchored, floating on uncertainty, with nowhere to call home. It was how Mal felt, in the backlash from the Uma debacle.

Despite Ben's declaration of love, her own admittance for her feelings, and the majority of the people on that boat supporting her, Auradon was a lot bigger than a bunch of school kids.

Her escape back to the Isle had taught her one thing; she was no longer a woman from the Isle. But she was still not Auradonian. She was caught in the middle, somewhere in the strait of Ursula she imagined herself, she was caught in the eddies and the ferocious currents that tore through the waters.

When Mal felt Ben's hand slip into hers, she had smiled, it was a genuine smile, filled with warmth and love, but she was still unanchored. Ben was one tether, one of many she would admit but she didn't have a home. The Isle was not her home, but it was somewhere she missed. She missed the anarchy, the rebellion, and sure she had had to live in her mother's shadow, but to wreak havoc had been fun. But she also enjoyed being in Auradon, the lack of starvation and poverty was refreshing, her natural instinct to be kind and help people could flourish here, and she was in the process of setting up her own charity. She was trying to find herself.

The last thing Mal had ever expected to do was to find herself in her mother's old castle. Tucked away in the corner of Aurora's lands, the castle had naturally fallen into disrepair. It had been a curiosity that itched away at Mal, to know where her mother had run her empire from, to see the castle that she had once raved about and missed dearly. She had told no-one, and instead just slipped away during one day in the holidays. It was a two hour journey from her current summer home with King Adam and Queen Belle. Her scooter had been brought back from the Isle, triple checked by all the cleverest engineers in the land (i.e Doug, Doc and Dopey, who was a quick minded mechanic), and it was her scooter that parked up at the base of the old ruin.

Staring up at the castle with wide eyes, she took in the dark façade and couldn't help her smile. She took her notepad out from her backpack and furiously started writing. She edged her way into the overgrown gardens, picking her way through thorn filled roses, past weeds as tall as her, and skirted the edges of the masonry trying to find her way in. She did eventually, she found a servant's door that was rotten enough that one well aimed kick splintered it.

Mal spent the next few hours wandering up and down the winding staircases, peeking into bare rooms, stripped back after the incarceration of Maleficent. On occasions there was a corner of tapestry left to the rot under a nail or wrapped around its old binding. The windows were still stained in brilliant colour, depicting different scenes of Maleficent's cruelty, and Mal had to wonder why the villagers hadn't destroyed them with a well-aimed rock or two; she soon worked it out when she aimed her own piece of stone at the image depicting Aurora's curse, the rock bounced off and the glass was still intact. Cursed.

Mal felt her magic anchoring as she continued to lap around the castle, picking her way across fallen debris, still occasionally making notes. It was when she reached Maleficent's Throne Room that she took a deep breath and steadied herself. She stared at the spot where her chair still stubbornly sat, the scorch marks around it told her that many had tried to remove the symbol of her mother's evil and had failed. Making her way slowly around the room, she never took her eyes from the throne, and her hand hesitated as she rested on the arm of it. Her fingers drew back and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Counter curses, what would mom have used to ensure such sticking power." She muttered to herself. "I can almost guarantee that FG tried to remove it, I think I can smell the pumpkin residue, and also definitely smell lavender and bluebells which means the Blue Fairy has been here. No doubt that the Magic Three that are with Princess Aurora have also tried to remove it… but… none will have tried to use dark magic to remove it." Mal wrote down her mad thoughts as she continued to stare critically at the looming black throne.

"You're right." Another voice shattered her composure and Mal whirled round, screeching as she faced a smiling Aurora, standing in the doorway.

"Holy Hell Bells you scared me." Mal clutched her heart, and then chewed her bottom lip and stared at the royalty before her.

"I didn't mean to, I came in to check up on you." Aurora shrugged and Mal frowned.

"I wasn't going to do anything bad!" Mal gabbled, hurt and weary that her mom's reputation preceded her.

"I know."

"I can prove it, "Mal said quickly, not taking in Aurora's agreement, "my notepad is filled with ways I can change things, it'll take a little magic, and obviously will have to be okayed by FG and yourself, and probably Ben or the King or the Queen…. Wait what."

"I know you're not here to do anything bad. You want to find yourself." Mal gaped as Aurora smiled and crossed to the window to stare down at the land below.

"How did you know?" Mal said tentatively, hesitating behind the blonde woman.

"It's a mother thing, but I've also been sort of in your position."

"I don't think you have ever been half evil."

"Mmm, no, but I have been caught between two worlds." Aurora turned and smiled kindly at Mal. This was Mal's first time meeting the Sleeping Beauty her mother cursed; after Parents Day with Queen Leah, and Audrey in her own magnificence, Mal had chalked Princess Aurora in the same category and steered clear of the family.

"I don't understand?" Aurora took Mal's hand and drew her closer to the window.

"After Maleficent did what she did, for whatever reason, I grew us an orphaned peasant girl."

"Yeah, about that, I am sorry."

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I spent fifteen years growing up as one of the poorest in the kingdom, I made my own clothes, learnt how to cook, to look after myself, to forage and learn which vegetables needed to be planted and when. I grew up to be entirely self-sufficient, and that was ripped away from me on my sixteenth birthday. I was suddenly thrown into an entirely different world, where all of the skills I had learnt as a child were not needed, I was ridiculed for not knowing which fork was which, for wanting to talk to the gardeners about the plants, for discussing with the chefs which recipes I really wanted to taste again…"

"Oh."

"I was taken out of a world I knew and thrived in and dumped into another that was so much more than I could ever have imagined." Aurora sighed. "I hated it, I hated the oppressing feeling of the palace, of never getting things right, and there were days when I wanted to strangle Phillip. I fought regularly with my mom who wanted me to embroider instead of sew something useful. I know what it's like to feel out of touch with a new world." Aurora had rested her hand on Mal's shoulder. "Cindy feels exactly the same. You'd be surprised how many Princesses feel uncomfortable in their dresses, Mulan is a good example, but she has the bravery to throw the rulebook out of the window and do what she wants, a little like Merida. You are not alone Mal."

~Mal~

"Princess Aurora and Family." The semi informal announcement made Aurora smile and her mother and her daughter fume. Ignoring their mutterings, she swept forward, lifting the hem of her heavy formal dress, and made her curtsey to the Crown Prince and Princess. She winked at Mal who smiled widely at the blonde-haired woman.

As the evening continued and people circulated, Aurora found Mal at her side and there was a moment of silence from the ballroom before they fell into easy conversation. Ben managed to not stare as the pair looked like they had been friends for years. There was a lull in their conversation before both reached down and took off their high heels, and made for the door.

"Mal!"

"Mom!" Ben and Audrey's voices carried across the room.

"Be back soon darling!" Aurora replied and the pair had vanished from sight, much to the confusion of the other guests.

Mal and Aurora had run from the ballroom, their stockinged feet sliding on the cold stone as they threaded their way down to the kitchens. Mal had arranged it with her now good friend Lumiere, and a small patch in the kitchen had been cleared for the two women to cook and bake. Aurora had promised to show her how to make her famous leek and potato soup and in turn Mal was showing her the cookies and cream cheesecake recipe that she had perfected recently. The chefs watched in amusement as Lumiere spun the two women out of the way until they had safely protected their gowns from the mess that was about to ensue and then let them launch themselves at the ingredients neatly lined up.

After the food had been safely delivered up to the ballroom, the cooks and servants all fell to quiet chatter as Aurora and Mal excitedly gabbled about recipes, and after the Head Chef, a usually severe and grouchy old man started following Aurora's recipe, soon the kitchen was once again ablaze with movement as the dessert chef wrote down Mal's method.

It was the scene that would greet an amused Ben and a scandalised Audrey, the kitchen filled with a hum drum of activity, and Mal and Aurora right at the heart of it. It would make Prince Philip laugh, it would earn a roar of laughter from Belle who donned her own apron and a soft scream from Queen Leah. The scolding that was pouring from her lips fell on her daughter's deaf ears but when her tirade switched tact to Mal, Aurora stood in front of her and all but chased the older woman from the kitchen.

Finally, Mal felt she was no longer floating, she was anchored quite securely in Auradon and Aurora had taught her that there was no need to be a Princess™ when being a regular person was just fine.

She was not alone.


	4. Kitty

A/N: It's been a few months, hi. Devie, as always to pull me back into uploading.

* * *

"I bet there is nothing you can do that will shock me anymore." Doug said drily as he undid his tie and chucked in on the back of a chair. He looked at the small midnight blue cat that was sat on his kitchen table, and laughed when the cat seemed to give him a look in return. "Are you stuck? I'm going to love it if you're stuck." He grinned at the feline, who turned her back on him and began cleaning her paw with fierce concentration.

Doug laughed, leaving his girlfriend so he could go and change out of his work clothes. When he came back, the cat was still sat there, and if a cat could scowl, Evie-Cat was doing it.

"Here Kit," Doug approached her slowly and scratched her under chin, and then behind the ear. "Shall I tell you all about my day?" He turned to find a cup for his coffee and after another scratch behind the ear, he began to jabber about his day, occasionally turning to see if Evie was listening.

"Well firstly I had to deal with the butthead known as Professor Grimm, by Merlin's Beard, that man has a thing for Royal Circle." Doug spat the nickname for the princelings and princesses that attended his university. "I mean, I know you've told me that Grimm is being basically paid by the Charmings, but I find that hard to believe! He's not a sports freak, so he's not brownnosing the awful Chad, or that sodding cousin of his, Mason." Doug took a moment and stared at the unflinching cat and sighed. "I suppose it could be that he's being paid to give that beastly Flo Charming a good grade, it wouldn't surprise me I suppose. Shall I get you something to eat, I think getting you cat food would be an insult don't you E?"

"Mrow."

"Yes I thought so. Luckily there is still chicken from last night's dinner so if I shred that into pieces you will be just fine." Doug did just as he said and placed the bowl down on the coffee table, smiling as Evie followed him and stuck her nose straight into the bowl.

"Professor Grimm was being irritatingly stubborn about my library access, claiming I didn't have the correct ID for the level I was on, thankfully Professor Goodwitch came past and old Grimmy scurried off so fast I almost laughed, especially when Goodwitch winked at me."

Doug continued to patter about his day, smiling when Evie-Cat, now finished with her food jumped onto his lap and nuzzled against his neck. She purred up a storm as he scratched behind her ears again and the pair soon settled to watch a spot of TV.

"Who's a good kitty, Evie's a good kitty. I am excited to see how you're going to get yourself out of this one by the way?" Doug cooed as Evie cracked open one eye and gave him an apparently disgusted look before closing it again. His next half hour continued with soft nuzzles from Evie-Cat, while they dozily watched the TV, his eyes drooping shut with his furry radiator on his lap.

Doug was almost asleep and didn't hear the key in the lock, and didn't move until he heard Evie's voice.

"Hey honey." The voice jolted him from his doze, and he stared down at the cat in surprise. He was almost unnerved when it stared patiently back at him and at the sound of giggles, he turned to see his Evie stood with bags in her hands.

"So you've met Sapph then?" She snorted with laughter as he stared at her in bewilderment.

"This isn't you?" He looked at the cat who was now awake and running towards Evie.

"No hun, it's not me, I am me, this is Sapph." She fondled the cat's ears as she leapt up onto the worktop, purring up a storm.

"Sapph?" Doug repeated dumbly.

"Yes honey, her name is Sapph. You know old Mrs Hedge four doors down, well she found her and told me her name was Sapph; whether it's for Sapphire or for Sappho she wasn't sure but Sapph is Sapph." Evie shrugged and unpacked the new cat toys and food that she had been trawling the shops for.

"Why do…we…have…a cat?" Doug sprang up and Evie sighed patiently.

"Okay sweetie, you've just woken up." She pressed a kiss to his forehead as he came closer, still staring in befuddlement at the blue haired feline. "This is Sapph, Sapph is my Familiar. Mrs Hedge who lives four doors down, you remember her?" Doug nodded at the memory of the eccentric witch in their apartment block, "Well, she stopped me on the way home earlier today, and said that she had just the cat for me."

"You did explain we didn't want a cat?" There was a rather angry meow at Doug's words and he looked at Sapph in alarm.

"I did explain we were not looking for a cat, but when I met Sapph, well it was obvious she was my Familiar so she's now living with us, and by the looks of it you two bonded quite well. Until you insulted her, I suggest you apologise."

"I thought she was you! I thought you had messed up your Feline Ferocious Spell!" Doug exclaimed.

"Nope, but it explains why she's made herself known." Evie cooed, grabbing a bed for Sapph out of one of the larger bags and setting it up near the fireplace.

Doug stared at the small cat who eyeballed him back and flicked her tail in frustration. Raising his hands in surrender, he made his apology and quietly reminded the kitty that he had given her chicken, whereas Evie had definitely bought her cat food, so really who would she love more?

"You cannot bribe my cat Douglas!" Evie's voice carried across the kitchen and he smirked as Sapph butted her nose against his palm again.

"Yes I can, can't I kitty?"


	5. Cookie Talk

A/N: There's been a lot of Bal in this anthology. I might try and remedy that. We'll see!

Enjoy!

* * *

Ben knows the truth in his words, all those years ago.

In a moment of nostalgia, he had come down to the Royal Archives, threaded his way through the stacks of books, padded past the vaults and he stopped at a lone ebony wood cabinet, tucked away innocently in a corner. Taking the key he had stolen from Mal's dressers, he fitted it into hidden keyhole and took the leather wrapped package that started his whole adventure.

The Grimoire of Maleficent.

The book that had caused so much pain and misery, but for Ben had procured him a genuine Happily Ever After. He unwrapped the soft leather that Mal had bound her mother's work in, and he stared down at the innocent looking book. Running his finger thoughtfully along the spine, he opened the first page; despite Mal telling him that it was a safe book, there was still a shiver that passed through him as he leafed through the pages.

Finally he found the right recipe, it was nestled between Lust's Dust and Mania Macaroons. Reading slowly, he worked his way through the annotations around the recipe, a few generations of Evil Mistresses, Mal's ancestors added their thoughts and a quick flick through the other pages revealed that it was a common occurrence for annotations to be scribbled in the margins.

This recipe in question had a footnote that caught his eye, with the few words underlined that piqued his curiosity. Following the directions of the footnote, he skipped through the pages to the _appendix_ at the end, which was a bunch of empty pages filled with spidery handwriting. What he read made him lean back in mild surprise and then he let out a sudden laugh. Ben had known the truth in his words, all those years ago. The cookie, who's recipe he had always been curious to read, was not as powerful as young Mal had thought. As the angry author of footnotes declared, it seemed to remove inhibitions rather than created love within its victim. For Ben, it had made him open his mouth and sing his declaration of love for the crazy villain girl, it hadn't falsified the feelings already churning within him.

The writer had complained heartily that their potion had not worked on their own intended victim, instead it had caused a bout of vomiting in the unlucky recipient, but no mooning, ecstatic, obsessive love. When they tested it on their assistant, it had had the desire effect, which the author had found most aggrieving in dealing with a doe-eyed sidekick.

Ben had known from the moment he set eyes on the grungy Isle kid, that their fates were bound together. From that moment in the courtyard, he knew that Mal Bertha Vis would forever hold his affections and his heart. Fate didn't fuck around in these cases, cookie or no cookie.

Her cookie had only taken away his inhibitions for a love that already burned within him, it certainly didn't create the mindless adoration he felt for her.

He groaned at this sudden revelation; his beloved wife was still her naughty mischievous self, even after so many years. His beloved Mal had taken to playing the footage of his pitch side declaration on the anniversary of the game, and every year he had teased her back that it had been the cookie talking, and who's fault was that…. Well now he knew he was wrong.

Damn.

"Baby?" A voice broke through his thoughts and he turned to see his wicked wife waiting next to a stack, staring almost confused.

"Hey love." He closed the book, slid the leather around the grimoire once more and placed it back on its shelf.

"Ready for dinner?" Mal hummed.

"Of course." He locked the doors and pressed the key into his wife's palm. He had no doubt that his mischievous imp of a wife would come down and investigate his curiosity, but for now he had a few more blissful days of pretending it had been the cookie talking.


	6. Adult Decisions

A/N: An unusual pairing for me, and maybe slightly naughty? You decide!

Enjoy.

* * *

"Why would I choose you?" She murmured, when Chad wrapped his arm tighter around her waist, unperturbed when pulled away. The dark room made everything more intimate and yet more aloof.

"Why wouldn't you choose me? I'm wealthy, a prince by birth, I have fabulous castles for you to fill with fabulous creations, I'm handsome, our children would be beautiful and powerful… need I go on?" His voice was low, and she strained to hear him.

"But you wouldn't love me." She stated, her voice by comparison was louder and cold. He turned to stare at her silhouette in the darkened room and felt, rather than saw her gaze on him.

"Is love such a big deal?" He asks quietly, all traces of boasting gone.

"Love maybe not, but emotion. I need someone to show me emotion Chad, I can't go through life as a trophy wife. Once upon a time I thought that was my future, but now I've seen the world and I know I need more. I need someone who will appreciate and love me for me." She had sat up now, the two shadowy figures just within touching range but most definitely separate.

"Is this because I didn't cuddle you after we… you know?"

"Had sex? You can say those words Chad." She huffed a sigh and shook her head. "Yes, and no. It started with that realisation, that you were cold after sex, and it's made me realise that I need that emotional support Chad. You're great in bed, I'll give you all your credit, but I need that mental and emotional connection Chad, and you do not give it to me."

"Oh. So now what."

"This was always just a fling Charming, you never wanted to marry me." She laughed and Chad sighed.

"You don't know that Evie."

"Yes I do Chad, you may have made some pretty version of me, with us being the hottest power couple since Lonnie and Audrey announced their engagement, but it wouldn't have been reality, and we'd have hated each other pretty quickly. You would have found me nagging and needy, and I would have despaired at your cold aloofness, we'd never have worked." Evie laid back down on the sheets and laughed into the dark.

"What you say makes sense." Chad also laid back down and rolled on his side to face her. He was just able to see the outline of her features from the streetlamps outside and he also laughed with her. "Are you willing to stay friends with me?"

"Why wouldn't we be friends? You took your head out of your ass after Uma's attempted invasion and realised that we weren't all bad, and we've been friends since. Why would we jeopardise that now, after a few nights of pretty fabulous sex?"

"Okay Evie Regina, to friendship." Chad declared as he pulled the duvet up around his neck once more.

"Chad Charming, to friendship." Evie echoed sleepily.


	7. Midnight Moments

A/N: Oh lord it's been a month and I am so sorry, but I've been to Naples and Cumbria and renovated my house and honestly I am exhausted. But here we go.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Maverick?" His soft call echoed around his flat. "Here boy." There was a sleepy meow in response and Doug smiled into the darkness. It was late, and his body ached from being hunched over a desk. Bloody Crown Corps wanting a report had left him all but chained to his desk for an extra four hours after work, and right now he wanted nothing more than a cup of tea and bed.

Switching on his hallway lamp, he was startled to see a mass of blue hair asleep on his sofa. Another meow told him that Maverick, his tabby cat, was buried somewhere in that mass of blue hair.

This was a moment for Doug; he had come home from work late, and he hadn't expected to see Evie at his tonight. They were a casual thing, too afraid of committing to one another but more than satisfied with one another in the physical sense. They met up after their respective work days, spent dirty weekends with one another, and were often found in the back of her car in the middle of nowhere. Hey, they both had flats, but she had a roommate and well his family members were prone to turning up at any given time, with no warning. After last time when she spent three hours hiding in his bedroom, and a rush to hide in his wardrobe when a cousin came in to see the new design scheme, they had mutually agreed to use his place less.

What was Evie doing at his? Why was she asleep on his sofa? Did she have an argument with Carlos, but Doug found it hard to believe that a) she would have a row with Carlos, and b) that she would choose his as her hideaway.

Padding closer to his friend, he saw she made a little nest out of the blankets that had sat on the back of the couch, he spied her standard knee length coat resting over the back instead. Her head was propped up on sofa cushions, and her neck looked cricked, and right in the middle of her arms was Maverick, purring happily at the sight of his primary feeding minion, and to be wrapped up in the warm embrace of his secondary feeding minion.

Debating what to do, Doug quickly decided that Evie could not spend the night on his sofa. Steeling himself, he shook her gently by the shoulder and smiled softly when she jumped awake.

"Wazzgoinon." She grunted, wiping hair away from her face, soothing Maverick when he mewed grumpily, and she looked surprised as she focused on Doug's face. "Ohhh… you came home later than I expected." She chewed her bottom lip and Doug laughed. The awkward tension was palpable and neither could look at one another in the face.

"Yeah, I had a project that needed finishing, I put in a few extra hours…"

"Yeah, I was expecting you to be home when I rocked up."

"How did you get in?"

"The spare key, you always tell me you tie it up in the rosebush out the front, I was freezing my ass off outside."

"Why?"

"Yeah see that's the funny part." She gave an awkward laugh and Doug's curiosity grew. "I was planning to surprise you. I thought the project deadline was last night… So I thought I would treat you tonight." She stood up, tugged the blanket away and Doug coughed back his surprise. No wonder she was cold, she had been wearing very little; a green body suit of lace and fine mesh, finished with stockings. It was amazing the power that Evie's body had over his, because despite his exhausting day at work, and the fact that he had been so mentally fatigued he had been ready to fall into bed, the sight of a semi-naked Evie had sent his blood rocketing south.

"Oh."

"Mmm yup." She wrapped herself back up again. "But now, it's much later than I realised, I didn't think my week had been so exhausting and you're as tired as I am…"

"Mmm I'm sure I can change that."

"Don't lie to me." She laughed, pulling the blanket closer. "I can see the tiredness written across your face, and the bags under your eyes are bigger than mine."

"But… you went to so much effort." He pouted, pulling her closer.

"I can make the same effort another time Dougal." She laughed, allowing herself to be wrapped in his embrace.

"Are you sure I can't change your mind tonight?" He said, despite stifling back another yawn.

"I am definitely sure Doug." She laughed, and yawned as well. She kissed him lightly on the lips and stepped out of his arms. "Grab my coat for me, and I will be out of your hair." Evie smiled and Doug hesitated. "Oh hey are you going to Jay's party this weekend?" She slipped back into the friendship side of their relationship but Doug was still hesitating.

It was late and it was cold, and she was wearing very little, and he didn't necessarily want her to make that journey on her own.

"How did you get here?"

"Bus, car's in the shop at the moment." She finished zipping up her boots and smiled again. "It'll be fine, Carlos told me it was easily fixable and I know that the Merry Men won't rip me off."

"Stay the night." The words surprised them both and they stared at one another for a heartbeat too long. "I mean it E, it's bloody freezing outside, it's meant to snow any day now and I have enough space here for the pair of us to sleep, we can cab it back to yours tomorrow, but they'll charge too much now." He was gabbling, he knew he was gabbling but he was worried about her.

"You don't mind?" She was chewing her lip again and Doug smiled.

"I don't mind."

"Like are you really sure?"

"E, it's basically snowing outside, the absolute madness that you came round my place in a corset and a coat dazzles me. Please stay here, we can both sleep and I can get a good night of sleep, safe in the knowledge that you haven't died in the snow like some poor little match girl." Doug laughed as she giggled and then he snorted. "Now come on, let's find something for you to sleep in."

Evie spent the night on Doug's sofa, (who knew it was a pull-out?), wrapped up in blankets, with spare pillows from his bed, instead of awkward couch cushions, and in one of his t-shirts. She'd never felt so warm and safe, and just to make her even happier, Maverick had chosen to spend the night with her instead of Doug. Something Doug grumbled about and cast dirty glares at his impervious cat.

She had slumbered on when Doug woke early, had slept through him padding into the kitchen to make himself tea and toast. She had stayed in the arms of Morpheus when Maverick jumped out of the makeshift nest, demanding to be fed and she was still asleep when Doug leant against the doorframe, smiling at her.

He had spent a small part of the night thinking about Evie and what this evening had changed, if anything. He had settled on the contentment welling up inside of him; he couldn't help but feel pleased that Evie had remembered his deadline and had wanted to treat him for it as well. In fact, he was feeling pretty smug and more than a little aroused by her actions. Scritching Maverick behind the ear, he sat himself down in his armchair with a book, waiting for Evie to wake up.


	8. Brainiac

A/N: A different one, because why not!

Happy Sunday! Enjoy

* * *

Gil knew the benefits of appearances and legacies. He used the legacy of his father for his own gain, and not in the same way Uma used hers, or Mal appropriated her mother's. Gaston Senior had certainly been smart, while he may not have sang the praises of Shakespeare and Homer, he was no idiot, and his sly intelligence passed down to his children.

None of the other Gaston offspring took to learning like Gil did. He was still as stout and broad as his father, but for Gil his lazy talent for learning made him a cunning opponent. He lacked arrogance, or quick wit, but he absorbed information and regurgitated it as necessary. Gil, with his father's insistence, worked hard to cover his intelligence. Appearing as a closed-minded oaf meant he was overlooked during whispered conversations, and it was a talent that made him a wonderful spy.

Harry knew that Gil was smarter than he looked, he knew that Gil had a knack for retaining a lot of information, both useful and useless. For example he could recite the ingredients in at least forty different dishes (mostly useless information), but equally he could also tell you half the allegiances of the Undeclared on the Isle.

The Undeclared were the petty thieves and small time criminals who held no particular loyalty to any of the Evil Villains. They worked the Isle, some accepting of their punishment, others viciously railing against the fate they had been dealt, but mostly they kept their heads down and their noses clean. Gil's ability to know whether the Pennyworths were rooting for Maleficent, Ursula or Hook was a good one, especially when it came to blackmail and pestering – something Harry did very well.

Harry would also internally credit Gil with a few of their bigger victories. Winning over the Tremaines and the Hunnies, it was Gil that saved them from defeat by Gothel and her AP Vanity students. There was a fair few things that Harry had to thank Gil for. He would still wince if he moved his shoulder wrong after being speared in the muscle by a stiletto heel, wielded by a half crazed Druzy Tremaine. He remembered how long it had taken his ribs to heal after Badma of the Hunnies tribe had almost sideswiped him off the island in the churning waters of the Strait. Uma should never chosen the call-my-bluff Bluffs as the spot for that battle, and he cursed her for it each day.

Ah, Uma. Harry would muse about their dynamics for a few hours each week, mentally cataloguing the observations he had gathered in the previous days and changing his mental map to suit the new pieces of information. Uma hadn't acknowledged Gil's talent, she never made use of his big brain, only his brawn, and even then she often found fault in his technique and style.

When Evie reordered the Isle, and started to bring over villains, Uma had howled that Gil had been taken, but Harry was hopeful. Gil would absorb all of Auradon's weaknesses and store them in that huge mind of his. Harry never told Uma this; he let her spit and rave and rant and fume against the injustice of Evie dismantling and taking her gang away from her.

It was weeks before Harry heard anything from Gil, until there was a summons for him as well. He had stared in shock at the piece of paper that had been delivered by armed soldiers, and he either wanted to throw up or faint. Uma had foamed at the mouth, distracting the guards attention so much that one of them nearly forgot to give over another piece of paper to Harry. It was a sleight of hand that made the young pirate pause and stare. The impassive face of the guard barely changed, but even in his stupefied state, Harry was pretty sure there was a twinkle in the other man's eye.

It had taken hours, days even to calm Uma down, the rejection of being not called over to the Isle brought a fresh wave of insecurity, it brought out fierce jealousy in her against Harry and it had taken too long of the precious few days he had on the Isle with her to make her realise that this was a good thing. If her second mate was already in Auradon, and her first mate was being shipped over then she had an advantage in taking over the other Kingdom. Finally, finally he had made her see sense, and let her scheme to her heart's content. What Harry definitely did not do, is tell her the information given in the second note. It had been a few words penned in Gil's untidy scrawl; it had mentioned that he had set about the summons and that it had taken him everything to convince Evie and the others that Harry was a good choice. Harry pondered over the last line on the note before burning it. _Don't mess this up._

Deciding he would ask the Gaston when he got there, Harry and Uma started to lay down plans for almost every eventuality. Then the day arrived that Harry Hook would leave the grimy warmth of the Isle for the saccharine sweetness of Auradon.

~Auradon~

"Harry! It's so good to see you!" The welcoming committee had neutral expressions, but Gil rushed forwards to hug him. "I've missed you bud." Gil's enthusiasm didn't dampen when Evie and Ben stood forwards.

"Mr Hook, please understand that you have been allowed here, despite your past record, on Mr Gaston's insistence." Ben saw the defiant gleam spring into Harry's eye but at Gil's cough the tense moment vanished.

"And I thank you for it Your Highness, but Harry will behave. I want him to see the treasure trove that Auradon can offer, just like it has to me."

"That's understandable Gil, but Harry needs to understand that his behaviour here will reflect on you." Evie explained quietly, noticing Harry's startled look. "You're his guarantor, and Harry needs to know that negativity will have ramifications for both of you."

"Serious stuff aside, welcome to Auradon." King Ben held out his hand for the pirate to shake and after a moment Harry shook it.

"Thanks fer havin' me."


	9. Committee 435

A/N: This one might be a little hard to follow, but I hope I've spaced everything out okay! Leave a review if you thought it was readable/understandable or not. If not, give me a clue how it can be made better!

Thanks, and enjoy!

* * *

 **Committee #435**

Topic: _The damage inflicted by Maleficent's Grimoire._

The aim of this Committee is to track and record any crimes and moral corruptions that have been caused by the book, and then decide if legal action can be pursued in accordance with the laws of Auradon.

The biggest curse to come from the book is that of Sleeping Curse laid up on Sleeping Beauty. The Committee regrets to state that the legal punishment from this curse has been laid against Maleficent, and not her Grimoire. Maleficent has since been exiled from Auradon. The Committee can note that there have been other, more numerous examples of evil that have been drawn from the Grimoires pages, and we turn to these since the judgement on Maleficent has already been passed.

This Committee, whilst trying to locate Maleficent's Grimoire, have since sent Representatives to each kingdom within Auradon in order to track down any victims of the Grimoire, offer them support and offer to press charges on their behalf. Featured within this report are extracts and condensed narratives taken from the multitude of witnesses across the United Kingdoms of Auradon; for full readings, please see the individual Appendices.

Witness#1

Mrs Tabernathy of Villeneuve has said that the book did bewitch her husband and transform him into a cat. When asked by a Representative if she wanted to press charges against the Grimoire, she declined. She informed the Representative that her husband had been a brute and a heavy drinker, and he was much more pleasant in nature and temperament as a tomcat. She also added that if that spell could be duplicated for use, then her neighbour, a Mrs North would be grateful. The Representative declined to comment.

Witness#22

Mr Thwaites of Charmington was interviewed and stated for the record that his house was shrouded and he himself imprisoned in a wall of thorns. It would appear that this curse had taken place before Aurora Beauty was imprisoned within her own walls. The Committee have drawn the conclusion that Mr Thwaites was practice for the bigger curse that was to come. When asked if he wished to proceed with legalities, Mr Thwaites declined, it would appear that his wall of thorns thoroughly impinged on his neighbours' land, and as such a Mr Ernest Pinkton was called in by a neighbour to cut back the wall, and rescue the trapped Mr Thwaites. Mr Pinkton and Mr Thwaites have since married.

Witness#51

Mrs Green, nee Allen of the New Bayou lodges that she was placed into an enchanted sleep by a curse taken from the Grimoire. The Representative has ascertained that her curse befell her long before Princess Aurora was struck, and as such the Representative has placed their thoughts on record that Mrs Green nee Allen was a form of guinea pig for Maleficent's curse. She refuses to press charges upon the knowledge that her curse led to be saved by a Mr Thomas Green, to whom she is now married.

Witness#66

Miss Edery of The Enchanted Forest alleges that the Grimoire was behind the destruction of her house. She notes for the record that it was not a natural occurrence for her house to collapse and has said that she is yet to see a natural disaster that blows four walls of a house outwards. When asked if she wishes to add her name to the petition, she declined as beneath the rubble she found two caskets of treasure. Upon further investigation by the Representative, it can be stated for the record that it was a Master Edery, an ancestor four generations back that buries the caskets in a fit of lunacy. The Representative has secured that the caskets remain with Miss Edery.

Witness#78

Master Sewell of Corona has plainly stated that his cow was transformed by the magic of the Grimoire. He has no wish to proceed with any form of legal action, he told the Representative that his new business, of Sewell's Strange Sights Circus would be nothing without Bessy as the star exhibit. He then confirmed that any legal action would remove Bessie from his care, and he would be unemployed without her. He then offered The Representative tickets for his next show.

Witness#94

Miss Elbert, a laundress from Schöne reports that her business was ruined upon the jinxing of her wash basins. The spell for this magic came from the pages of the Grimoire, that Miss Elbert can attest to, when pressed about the curse it would appear that anything washed within the basins has the ability to fly after drying. She regrets to inform the Committee that she has no pleasure in pressing charges against the Grimoire as she now owns Elberts Enigmatic Flying Carpets; she is now exporting her wares to Agrabah.

Witness#102

Mrs Roth of Tideway has said that her house was infested with poltergeists that had been summoned by the power of the Grimoire. Upon hearing of her infestation, our Representative approached her with the Keepers of the Peace to begin the legal proceedings and possible exorcism. She was horrified at the suggestion, stating she had no need for either procedure as she had now tamed her poltergeists within a few weeks, and as such had found that they were excellent at cleaning the house as they were able to get into places she had been unable to.

Witness#113

Mr Broad of Okeanos has stated for the record that the Grimoire is the cause of the demon that lurks within the basement of his hotel. At first he did write the Committee at the disturbances it was causing, but upon our visit to his address a few months later, it would appear that Mr Broad had no need of any White Witch, or to press charges as he now has a lucrative paranormal business and a newly renovated haunted hotel.

Witness#126

Sir Abdi of Agrabah has lodged a complaint that the Grimoire was the cause of his imprisonment within a cave on the outskirts of the city. In a fate very similar to Prince Aladdin, the Committee followed up his complaint and found that Sir Abdi has no need of the Representative's help. It has to be noted that Sir Abdi has since discovered an innate magical ability and has enrolled in the Royal Sultan's School of Sorcery.

~Mal~

Mal couldn't help but laugh at the report she was reading. She was hooting with laughter, with tears tracking down her cheeks when Ben found her.

She was still snorting when he asked her, she wordlessly pointed at the documents in front of her, allowing her beau to read over her shoulder. Finding the court documents pertaining to her mother and her trial had originally been daunting. It had taken courage to read the literature surrounding her family, and she had taken a few weeks to mentally prepare herself BUT now she found it rather enjoyable.

Despite her mother's desperation for spreading evil and misery amongst the kingdoms, Mal had been delighted to see that her mother's evil had done nothing but bring goodness and love to her victims.


	10. Call It What You Want

A/N: Is this a little bit darker? I'm not sure.

Enjoy this Bal piece!

* * *

Mal stopped and stared at the jeering faces around her. She saw Audrey's vicious expression and felt herself crumple. The tears fell freely and she ran from the ballroom, blindly pushing past courtiers, some sympathetic, some pleased with her humiliation; all unseen by Mal as she fought to escape.

It would be hours before Ben found her. He had heard of Audrey's triumph over Mal. He had felt a bitter taste when he found that Mal had been in contact with people on the Isle. He had huffed and puffed when snippets of correspondence filtered onto social media, and then into the tabloids. He had felt shame, disappointment and betrayal bubble through him until Belle had stopped him. Mal had been her contact for bringing over other children from the Isle. It had been her that had used Mal's old network to check the conditions of the Isle. While Mal wasn't exactly popular back on the Isle, there were those that respected her _escape_ from the life of the Isle to the life in Auradon, and there were a small gang of younger villain kids that wanted off the Isle, kids that didn't have a natural talent for evil, kids like Mal who had been forced to fit into a skin that didn't suit her. Upon approaching Queen Belle with stories of her youth, the older Queen had leapt into action into trying to assess and change the situation. She had used Mal to maintain the covers, to ensure the safety of the children on the Isle against their villainous parents. That's what Audrey had uncovered parts of. Mal wasn't planning an invasion.

The shame that flooded through Ben at his mother's admission made Ben feel sick. He then questioned why Mal hadn't revealed this and instead had let Audrey humiliate her. Belle had softly reminded him that she was protecting a huddle of children left on a bleak and desolate Isle, she was protecting them from their own parents, and if it meant sacrificing her own reputation she would do just that. Audrey's poisonous act had shown Mal that the courtiers who were supposedly in favour of her, were still viciously triumphant when she was thought to have betrayed Ben. Poisonous words and dark threats had been hurled at her as she ran from the Ball.

"Find her." Belle urged her son, her own face tired and worn at the PR uproar the embittered Audrey Beauty had caused. He heeded his mother's words instantly, realising that Mal had many hours advantage. He had hurtled past Audrey as he was leaving, but he saw a glimpse of her twisted features before leaping into his car.

The old Isle kids had almost closed ranks, falling back on old habits when all of Auradon seemed to turn against them once more. Only this time Lonnie, Jane and Doug sat firmly amongst their numbers. Mulan and Shang stood tall beside their son-in-law, a multitude of Doug's cousins were cloistered away with them, and Fairy Godmother was in Guard-Dog-Mode next to Carlos when Ben finally found them at Lonnie's.

"She's not with us Ben." Carlos said tiredly, running a hand over his face. "We don't know where she is. She's not hit the Isle, and as far as we know she's not left for Agrabah or any of the other Allies." Ben suddenly saw the mapping paraphernalia dotted around the room.

"We've been trying to find her since that poisonous little video went viral." Lonnie explained, fingers dancing through the hologram that Carlos had rendered. The 3D map of Auradon had various points highlighted, but their expressions told Ben that they hadn't been successful.

"Where did you have the happiest memories?" One of Doug's cousins was frowning, brainwave after brainwave hitting the group as they tried desperately to locate their friend.

It didn't matter. It was now almost 24 hours since Mal had fled from the Charity Gala, and there was still no news from her.

"I need air." Ben said suddenly and he strode out of the room, leaving his sleepy friends in his wake. He sat in his car, and let his head rest back against the seat. He knew Mal, despite the bite of belief that occurred after he saw Audrey's evidence. He tamped down his guilt, and closed his eyes. He did know Mal, he knew her inside and out, and with a sudden moment of inspiration he knew exactly where his fiancée was.

Dropping a quick text to Evie, his wheels sprayed gravel as he roared out of the drive and away from Lonnie and Jay's home. His first pit-stop was to rush home, he pelted it up the stairs, into their bedroom and grabbed a rather plain looking bag. He knew about Mal's bag, he had questioned it, he had dreaded it, but he suddenly realised just how amazing his fiancée was. Grabbing a few other things, he leapt back into the car and gunned it to the one place that Mal would be hiding.

Her mother's castle.

She had both loathed and loved the castle. She hated the negativity that surrounded the beautiful old building, but she loved it as well. She had fallen in love with its architecture, its gardens, overgrown as they were and the views that could be seen from the highest point. This is where he found her, in the topmost turret, in her mother's old bedroom. She was sat, her gaze fixed down on the wilderness below, while she sat on the cold stone window ledge, still clad in her flimsy ballgown.

"Hey." He was unhappy when she slowly turned to face him before she wordlessly turned back to the window. Instead of further conversation, he pulled the duvet from the second bag he packed and crossed the room to wrap it around her bare shoulders. She barely protested when he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the windowsill into the centre of the room, but she did curl up into him when he pulled her securely against him.

Who knows how long they sat for, ensconced in each other's arms, but it was a while until she let him undress her from the stiff unwieldy fabric of the gown, and into sweatpants and sweatshirt. She let him leave to pull furniture into the room, and she watched in mild interest as he threw a sheet over the scattered chests and chairs, creating a small and cosy fort. He had started a fire in the old grate, checking the chimney before he started, and he pulled out the small feast he had managed to grab from home.

He pulled other things from the luggage including Mal's Grab Bag. The bag that she had packed the day after he had proposed to her; the bag that was prepared for her escape from Court Life. They had argued about it, why would she need to pack such a bag, he would always protect her, but she had just stared at him, let out a short, sharp bark of laughter and continued to pack. When the niggling issue persisted, she had asked him quietly to her have this eccentricity, and after much deliberation he had conceded.

Now she looked up at him with a smirk as she reached for her bag and Ben laughed slightly. The tension seemed to dissipate at the sight of the Grab Bag and the pair fell into a softer moment with each other.

"I know about the rescue mission you have with mom." Ben hummed. She turned to look at him, reality intruding on the picnic. "I wish you had told me."

"We didn't need you to worry about it, we needed to have watertight cases to put against the Council." They both paused at the thoughts of the overly traditional and conservative council. "Which is why we didn't want you involved." She shrugged lightly and Ben nodded, fully understanding the dilemma his government had put his mother and his fiancée in.

"I love you, for all of your craziness and your massive heart, and protecting children against the cruellest of worlds." Ben said suddenly and Mal smiled.

"I love you. You found me, you're here for me and you're with me now. You love me for me and on a daily basis, that shocks me."

"Shouldn't, you're an amazing woman." Another tender moment fell into a comfortable silence and Mal looked out of the makeshift fort to see the sun streaming in the grimy glass.

"I have to go back, I have to face the world that Audrey has churned up."

"Not yet, we don't."

"We do, Belle has workmen coming into the castle to prep it for the refugee children." Mal smiled and Ben let out a chuckle.

"You really thought of everything didn't you?"


	11. Flu

A/N: I love this pairing. I know they're shallow, but I like writing them as fluffy airheads. As always, thank you Boris for your reviews, they make me smile.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Audrey, you're sick."

"I'm fine."

"Honey, you're really not." Chad tugged on her arm as his girlfriend tossed her hair to one side and stared at herself critically in the mirror.

"I am fine Chad, stop fussing, oh my nose is so red." She muttered the last part to herself and Chad groaned.

"Because it is sore, because you are sick." He grumbled, turning away from the stubborn princess to stare at the pile of tissues in the bin.

"I'm ignoring you now." She said tartly, and as Chad opened his mouth to retort she clucked her tongue. "Not one more word Chad Charming." He spun to face her again, and all but growled as she waved a mascara wand at him, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead he kissed her on the top of her head and left the room.

~Chad~

"Please Evie."

"Really Chad?" Evie raised one eyebrow and he shrugged.

"Audrey's sick and I hate it when she's sick, because she doesn't admit it. Ask Ben about the last time she got the flu." He huffed at the memory and Evie bit her bottom lip.

"I'll see what I can do, but it could take at least a day to source the recipe, the ingredients and make anything for her. Sometimes a cold just has to take its course." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug and Chad groaned.

"She's going to run herself into the ground." He thunked his head against the wall and Evie sighed, patting him awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Hey, is all okay?" Ben's voice was naturally guarded at seeing Chad and Evie conversing in the corridor.

"Ben! Tell Evie how bad Audrey was the last time she got sick!" Chad gabbled and Ben let out a deep sigh.

"You think she's sick?" Chad nodded. "Well damn, we're in for a rough week or so." At Evie's quizzing look, he was prompted to explain. "The last time she had the flu was about three winters ago, but she solidly refused to admit that she was sick. She almost took down half the school because she spread the flu so badly, she attended all of her rallies, her cheer-meets, every social, class. But she wore herself to exhaustion, she ended up in the sickbay for another week after clearing the flu from her system because she was so so tired." Ben ran a hand through his hair.

"We have to do something." Chad pleaded, turning back to Evie again.

"If I give her anything, she will accuse me of poisoning her."

"We have to try and cut off her rallies and talks etc." Ben started planning, and soon the three fell into making a plan into keeping Audrey as contained as possible, and to see if Mal or Evie, or Jane could come up with a remedy that might fight whatever flu Audrey was fighting.

~Chad~

It was the next morning that Chad snuck down early to Audrey's room, hoping to catch her still sleeping. He had accepted the futility of being ill later on, he was bound to catch whatever was ailing his dear girlfriend, and with that martyred outlook on his immune system, he was determined to keep his sweet princess in quarantine.

So it was a hell of a surprise to see Audrey most definitely awake and sat in front of her vanity, intermittently sneezing and applying concealer.

"Audrey?" His voice made her scream and spin on her chair, staring daggers at her beloved prince for both interrupting her, and scaring her. It would have had more an effect if her eyes were not watery and red-rimmed, her nose not red and the bags under her eyes all the more pronounced by the paleness of her skin.

"Sweet baby Merlin, you scared me." She held her hand dramatically to her heart, but turned back to her mirror with determination.

"Baby, what are you doing up, it's 6am?"

"I always get up at 6am to do my makeup."

"That's a total lie Audrey Beauty and you know it. I've had to prise you out of your bed at half seven for you to make it to breakfast in time." Chad stepped into the room, keeping an eye on the reflection of his girlfriend. Seeing her focused on her own face, he started dropping the small pods that Jane had made hurriedly last night. Silence met his words, but her curiosity was piqued when he started stripping back her bed clothes.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting air in here?" Chad put the window on the latch and was met with a grumpy look on his girl's face. "Don't give me that look, I was speaking to Ben earlier and there's a few students gone down with the flu and other various colds, so I'm trying to make sure you're getting fresh air." The white lie slipped from his tongue. At the mention of her ex's name there was another toss of the head, but she turned back to her mirror, mollified by his answer. She didn't see Chad slip another pod beneath her pillow and she didn't see him hang a herb bag on the side of her wardrobe. He listened to her sneeze wetly, curse that her mascara was still wet and he let out an almost inaudible sigh.

~Chad~

It would be another three days before Audrey succumbed to her cold.

She was strangely confused when her Flower Art class was cancelled, when her Interior Décor seminars were put on pause, and when her Social Butterfly rally had been cancelled the morning before. She didn't know that Ben and Chad had quietly slipped to most of the students involved and politely told them that Audrey was coming down with a cold. Every student remembered the debacle of last time, and fell into line with the idea of putting the various events on pause for the week.

Chad found her in one of the bathrooms shivering. Jane had found her first and sent Carlos to find Chad with the words 'She's caved'. The blonde prince had all but ran from the gym to the bathroom that Carlos had pointed out and uncaring of any other occupants ran in to find his princess sitting on the sink.

"I don't feel great." She looked up at him with eyelids half closed, her nose bright red despite the amount of makeup smeared across it, and she was hot to the touch.

"Get her back to the room, I'll send the nurse." Jane murmured as she had already felt Audrey's hot and damp forehead.

"I've got you beautiful." Chad scoops her up into his arms and bears her away to her room. He watches over her as the nurse takes her temperature, tuts and gently scolds her patient. He watches the faint irritation chase over Audrey's face, but mostly she shivers and shifts restlessly beneath the covers.

"Not much you can do I'm afraid pet." The soft voice of the nurse makes Audrey frown. "You've got to ride this one out, okay flower? Mr Charming, I suggest you leave otherwise you will undoubtedly catch the malady that has struck our Miss Beauty."

"I'm staying with her." Chad shrugged at the nurse, who opens her mouth to scold him as well. But she thinks the better of it, and advises him to get a bed brought in, Audrey will need to space to move freely in the bed, and sharing might be nice for the first five minutes but that her fever would make things most uncomfortable.

After the nurse had left, he crossed the room and smoothed the damp hair away from her forehead and smiled down at her, even when she sneezed loudly.

"Chad, you need to leave." She coughed slightly and stared up at him, she felt weak and pathetic and was gratified when he laughed.

"I'm glad it's only taken four days this time, and not the week it did last time." He kissed the tips of his fingers and pressed them to her face. "Now I'm going to find Ben and arrange it for me to keep an eye on you. Love you, get some sleep." He left her to fall into half dreamed sleeps, with his words of love floating around her head.


	12. Emails

A/N: A little Bal short on the pressures of being royalty.

Fluffy thing I think. Enjoy!

* * *

"Stop moving."

"I need to read my emails."

"You don't. You can just sleep, instead of being permanently on your phone."

"You wanted me to be Queen, this is how I be Queen."

"I wanted you to be my Queen, the fact that you're now Queen of Auradon is neither here nor there." Ben grumbled into Mal's shoulder. His eyes were still closed and he was blindly reaching along her arm to find the blasted phone that had buzzed for the last twenty minutes. His fingers closed around it, yanked it from her grasp and he chucked the offending device haphazardly across the room. He smiled when he heard it _thunk_ against the soft carpet.

"Ben!" Mal tried to move out of the bed to retrieve her phone, but was thwarted when his arms locked around her waist and kept her pinned in bed. "Ben, I have meetings to arrange!"

"Woman." Ben was still muttering into the pillow, refusing to let a struggling Mal collect her phone. "So help me Gods, if you open one more damn email I will divorce you."

"On what grounds?"

"That you're a workaholic. We haven't had one day off together in months."

"We are King and Queen of Auradon, we do not get days off." Mal gave up wriggling free and contented herself to disgruntled cuddling.

"Yes, we can have one day off. It's Sunday, I have missed waking up with you and I have missed cuddling you." He rearranged himself to be spooning comfortably behind his beloved wife and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

"I've missed you too." She murmured and for a moment Ben thought he had won the debate, until there was a persistent buzzing from the corner of the room. "Just let me get that…"

"No!" But too late, his slightly relaxed grip meant Mal had escaped and nabbed her phone. "Oh fine." He huffed, and rolled over, facing away from her while she obsessively checked her life. He sulked quietly, closing his eyes and missing the warmth of his wife.

Mal looked up from her phone and stared at the bare back of her husband. She glanced back down at her phone with messages from advisors still lighting up her notification bar. Chewing her bottom lip, she quickly worded a message to her closest advisors stating that today she would be unavailable as she would be spending time with the King and that they should pass the message on if required. Turning her phone to Do Not Disturb, she left it on the floor in the corner and padded silently back to bed.

Happy to jetpack Ben's broad back, she encircled him and kissed whatever patches of skin she could reach.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"What do you want to do today?"

"Cuddle you and kiss you and fool around with you." Ben shifted and started to roll to face her.

"Hahaha, fool around? We are married Benjamin."

"Yes, yes we are." He wrapped his arms around her and their legs tangled together. "And I still want to fool around with you."


	13. Party Planning

A/N: I have just got back from dear Scotland, and I realised that I had not uploaded anything to my Doc Manager, and could not upload anything on here. Really bad on my part.

What this lovely one is though, is Devie. It's Devie that's been on my harddrive for six months, it's a Devie that I knew I couldn't upload straight away because my Devie pairs outnumber all of the others, so I waited (it's also Halloween themed). HERE WE GO! _Devie._

Enjoy!

* * *

"Hey Ben." The voice crackled on the end of the phone and Ben couldn't help the smile. Doug sounded weary and possibly a little defeated.

"Hey Doug, what's going on?" Ben didn't usually like to laugh at his friends exhaustion, but after double checking the date, he knew exactly why Doug sounded the way he did.

"Can I come and hide at yours for an hour or so? Evie has me making spider napkin rings and I need an emergency get out."

"Sure, I have a few beers if you need them, or I can find something stronger if you want?"

"Start with the beers, I'll have something stronger before tonight." Doug sounded slightly more cheerful and he put the phone down with a click.

~Evie~

Evie was not a stupid girlfriend, and she knew that she could get very overexcited and over-the-top when she threw an event. She knew that was probably why Doug was seeking solace in Ben's place. It was usually when Doug decided to hide somewhere to avoid Hurricane Evie that Hurricane Evie took it down a notch or two. When they were ordinary parties, not quite thrown at a whim because they had been planned meticulously for a week or so, Evie would always then tone it down at Doug's disappearance, but celebrations like Halloween, New Years, and Christmas would always get category five Hurricane Evie – she got too excited.

She would never choose a favourite between her Halloween parties and her Christmas dinners; her tone at Christmas was much more intimate. They held it on Christmas Eve every year because Christmas Day had too many traditions for the Royal couple, but on the 24th of December you could bet your bottom dollar that Evie would have her house looking amazing. The small dinner of just close friends meant something cosy and warm – they'd each take part in the cooking, Mal was Dessert Chief, Lonnie could make a mean stuffing and Carlos was a dab hand at carving the turkey. Christmas was cosy, Halloween was quite the opposite. Halloween was extravagant and loud and vibrant and let people show off as little or as much as they wanted.

Costumes were a factor in her party, but Evie wasn't as fastidious to demand elaborate costumes; one year Carlos came in a black morph suit and declared himself to be a shadow. Evie was always going to go big with her costumes; one year she was a peacock with a fully functioning tail, another year she had opted to go as Cleopatra and boy, did she know that every bead and sequin on that slinky piece of material had been handstitched. This year she had her Marie Antoinette costume ready and waiting. Doug could attest to the fact that her wig had taken weeks to design and make, and it had exhausted him, let alone Evie.

Evie was not a stupid girlfriend, so when she saw her other half tugging on his jacket she smiled. She brushed aside his mumbled excuses, straightened the lapels of his jacket and kissed him softly on the lips. A quick apology had them both smiling, and he pressed his forehead to hers before laughing.

"I know E. I'll be back in an hour or so, just to help put set the projector up okay?"

"Love you." She smiled and with another long kiss he left his manic girlfriend to her spooky madness.

Her love of Halloween naturally came from her childhood on the Isle – the cobwebs, the dirt, the jump scares all came from growing up on that spit of land she had called home. She had taken pleasure out of naming all of her foods after those she had lived on; Spider Stew, Belladonna Beauty Drinks (her mother's favourite), Crab Claws Cakes, Grit'n'Mash… the list went on. Of course, Jay had been super excited to see his old favourite of Shan Yu Dim Sum for the Dumb, and was disappointed that they tasted entirely Auradonian. Evie could still remember his little puppy dog face turning to face her in despair. In turn it had started a big debate about the food back on Auradon, and well Evie was sure that somewhere a law had changed; not that the inhabitants of the Isle would care, any charity coming from Auradon would never be accepted. But Jay did not get his original Dim Sum for the Dumb, much to his chagrin.

This year her theme hailed from the Old European Courts, hence her Marie Antoinette costume, but she had transformed her house into a ballroom worthy of any King or Queen – which was good, because there would be many Royal families within her walls in a few hours. The chandelier glittered, silk tapestries adorned the walls, her windows had had a smidge of magic used to make them look different on the inside. Instead of her plain small casement windows, they were replaced with an illusion of giant sash windows, running from the floor to the ceiling with the view outside having been magically altered. She clucked her tongue as the sun set in the images outside and she knew that Ben would get a little bit cross at the magic but _ehh,_ it was Halloween after all.

She had opted for a white and gold colour scheme, with vast pillars reaching up to a newly enchanted ceiling. But Evie hadn't opted for the splendour that most of her attendees would have grown up with; she had zombified the place. Blood was splattered across the walls, huge cobwebs festooned as much as she could reach, the windows were dusty and dirty and there were tears in the tapestries. She stood in the centre of the room, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, the usual scents of vanilla and sandalwood were mixed with smells that came entirely from her childhood – rotten wood and decaying _stuff_. She had never identified it as a child and she wouldn't attempt it now.

Ticking items off her list, she was satisfied to see the drinks piled neatly in cool boxes, ice buckets and she had even transformed her study into a walk-in freezer (thank you Mal's magic). The buffet food was prepped and ready, having arrived this morning from the castle kitchens, but her brain sparked a thought and she quickly hunted her way through the boxes to find one earmarked for Jay. She had, with great difficulty managed to procure a box of Dim Sum for the Dumb for him and she needed to make sure nobody else ate it, especially not Chad, who also adored Dim Sum. Tapping it thoughtfully, she turned with a small smile and mentally prepared herself for the weight of her wig.

~Evie~

To say her evening was a success would be putting it lightly. Even the older crowd had turned out in full force, and the outfits were stunning.

Audrey and Chad were happily waltzing around the ballroom, her fine grey damask dress was shredded from the knees up revealing the red petticoat beneath, and there was a gory line of blood across her neck and a pallor in her cheeks. Evie had already complimented her on her Anne Boleyn outfit, and Chad had done rather well pairing as Anne Boleyn's rather brutish husband Henry VIII. The ginger beard had been grown especially for this party and Evie was impressed.

She found Lonnie and Jay at the buffet table, and with a small curtsey she presented Jay with his box of very special Dim Sum. His rapture and delight made her grin, though she did whisper to Lonnie that she shouldn't kiss him for the remainder of the night – Shan Yu's Dim Sum had an _acquired_ taste.

"You look amazing by the way." Lonnie beamed at the compliment.

"I know your theme is European Courts but Ching Shih is just too amazing of a woman not to emulate!" Lonnie gushed. "A Chinese pirate Queen in charge of 20,000 sailors, 300 ships and kept global powers under her thumb, who doesn't want to be her?!" Lonnie's enthusiasm had Jay grinning.

"I agree!" Evie rearranged the red jewel choker around her neck and kissed Lonnie on the cheek before floating off in a ripped skirt of blue tulle.

Doug caught her elbow before she could check up on Mal, and he twirled her carefully in his arms, heaven forbid if he caught the wig and sent it tumbling.

"You never cease to amaze me Evie Regina." He murmured, at her questioning look he pressed a kiss to her rouged cheek and wrapped his arms around her tighter. "You have made history in this room, you have brought the dead to life. Only in our house would I see Elizabeth Bathory and Lucrezia Borgia discuss charitable trusts, Jane Grey and Catherine the Great playing cards, and Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots getting along famously while arguing about cookies." Doug's voice was full of adoration and Evie beamed up at him.

"Well, I do try." She shrugs nonchalantly. "Wait who came as Mary Queen of Scots?" She craned her neck to look around the room.

"Merida of course, who else?" Doug released her so she could scout around at her guests properly, and it was almost exactly as he described.

Merida and Cinderella looked out of sorts in their costumes as warring cousins, but laughing and joking nonetheless. Who would have guessed that old Lizzy had signed Mary's death warrant with the way the two were carrying on? Belle and Jane were playing cards, and judging by the whoop and laugh, Jane had just won a hand, although the sparkle in Carlos' eye suggested there might be some kind of Isle shenanigans at play. Jane sat back down after her win, smoothed out her dove grey skirt and checked the line of gore also at her neck; another victim of a merciless Elizabeth I. Belle did look resplendent as Catherine the Great, every inch of her shone as a fierce and intelligent Queen. Finally Evie's eyes rested on Mal and Aurora, lingering near the bar. Despite everything the Tall Tale Tattler reported, the two of them were good friends, Aurora having taken on a motherly role towards the young Queen, helping her with the etiquette that went beyond Mal's common sense and intelligence. Aurora's grey streaked blonde was pinned and netted in the most elaborate curls and Evie suddenly appreciated the effort that all of her friends and family had put into tonight.

She leant back against Doug and smiled.

"Happy Halloween love." He murmured.

"Happy Halloween, and thank you." He raised an eyebrow and she smiled. "For looking after me when I go into party planning mode." She grinned.

"Any day my darling, now shall we dance and eat cake?" He winked and Evie took his proffered hand and the pair spun out onto the dance floor.


	14. Fixing Things

A/N: Who doesn't adore a spot of Janelos?

Happy Monday & enjoy!

* * *

"He just fixes things."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean, he just fixes things!" Jane blew a lock of stray hair out of her eyes and sighed.

"What kind of things?" Lonnie put down her cup and stared at her friend.

"Anything!" Jane also put down her cup, crossed her legs beneath her on the sofa and thought. "Okay, so you know mom has had this big No Magic drive since like forever?" Lonnie nodded, and Jane continued. "That didn't mean her DIY skills improved over the course of my lifetime, and really magic should have been used to fix some things in our house."

"Such as?"

"I've been living with a leaky tap in the kitchen for six years, ditto with a TV that requires one tap on the left side, two taps on the right side and a wallop on the top to make sure my cable connects properly." Jane rattled off a longer list of problems that included the toilet in the downstairs bathroom, the faulty plug socket in the lounge that no-one used without fear of electrocution, the light switch in the dining room that occasionally blew the fuses if it wasn't switched with enough force and the wobbly paving slab in the back garden.

Lonnie's expression was held deliberately neutral, but she was amazed at the hodgepodge house Jane grew up in.

"Okay…" She broke in when Jane paused for breath. "So Carlos just fixes them?"

"Yeah!" The tap works like a dream, I don't have to use the internal cistern to flush the loo anymore, and the paving slab is securely in place." Jane picked her cup back up and laughed. "It is madness, today he's turned the electrics off in the house and he's fixing the fuse box and light switch, then I imagine he'll be in here next." She shook her head.

"Why does this freak you out so much?" Lonnie poured more tea and snaffled a biscuit out of the pack.

"I've grown up living a house where things are held together with hope and duct tape, it's weird having things work! And it's suspicious." Jane fell silent as Carlos came in with a smile and a tool box.

"Hey love, the electricity is still out, but I'm gonna work on the wall socket first." Within minutes, he'd carefully chipped the socket from the wall and was examining the cables extruding from the back. Within another ten minutes he was making noises and stripping back a loop of wire in his box, and another ten minutes saw him fitting the socket back into the wall, resealing the wall with a small pot of plaster.

Lonnie watched open mouthed as Carlos swiftly moved towards the TV, running through its start up before resolving to take the offending electrical apart and work from the outside in.

"You okay girls?" Carlos turned to look at them briefly. "You've been really quiet."

"Just watching you work." Jane supplied with a smile.

"You do that way too much." Carlos grinned back at her before running through the wiring again, losing himself to troubleshooting the pesky TV.

An hour later and Jane was making lunch with Lonnie, the pair gave Carlos a small plate to keep his spirits up while he battled on. He was still deep in wiring and testing when Lonnie decided to head home and it wouldn't be until Jane and her mom were making dinner on the gas hob that he emerged victorious.

"Thought I'd have to finish it by candle light!" He beamed, flicking the electricity back on.

"Excellent, we're having chicken for dinner, change your top for the spare you keep with Jane, wash your hands and sit your butt down." Godmother smiled kindly, moving back to the table tops while Carlos and Jane exchanged a look.

"I'll be right back Ma'am." He nodded to follow her orders while Jane set the table.

"He just fixes things!" Godmother said to her daughter and Jane laughed.

"Yes he does." Her fond smile told her mother all she needed to know and more, and Godmother resolved to find other things in the house that needed fixing.


	15. True Love

A/N: It's been a while since I wrote Audrey, and honestly I am excited to see how dark she gets in the third movie! Anyone else excited, just me? Okay well here she is, getting mad about True Love.

Enjoy!

* * *

Audrey knew what love looked like.

She saw it in her parents every day. She saw the dances, the picnics, the balls and when her father would sleep her mother up from her embroidery to waltz with her whenever he felt like it. Even when they were mad at one another, she saw love in the depths of their eyes when they shouted and fumed, no matter what the problem was, Audrey grew up knowing that love triumphed over anger.

It was why she made her hasty decision in grabbing Chad Charming and declaring him her boyfriend when Ben openly proclaimed _his_ love for the rat from the Isle. Because right from the start she had seen a glimmer in Ben's eyes when he stared at the purple haired freak that she had never seen when he looked at her.

She had tried everything to replicate her parents' story – the waltzing, the parties, the ceremonies, she had tried it all, foolishly thinking it would produce the love that her parents shared but she had been wrong. Audrey watched the moment that Ben laid eyes on the daughter of _her_ villain, she saw the love glow in his eyes. Fate had cut her a cruel deal; watching her prince fall in love with the daughter of her villain. It had made her feel sick to her stomach, but Audrey knew how futile it was to fight against love.

She had held back her tears when Ben started to sing, she had ran away to compose herself because her Grammy Leah always said that Princesses never show weakness. But it hurt so much. It hurt to know that her own hopes and dreams meant nothing and that Ben's fate lay elsewhere, away from her. It was why she wanted to scream and cry.

She didn't know how to feel, it felt like the worst kind of dream. The signs were telling her that her future wasn't the Queen of Auradon and it made her want to scream in anger but she couldn't. Every step felt like agony as she hide further away from the bleachers, hearing the cheers of her classmates. She couldn't decide what was worse, she didn't know what her heart was screaming at her but she knew it wasn't a good thing.

"Audrey?" A voice cut through the pain and she looked up into the blue eyes of Chad Charming. "Audrey." His hand slid beneath her elbow, supporting her and Audrey realised she was shaking. She buried her head in his chest, uncaring that he smelt like a bad gym bag, he gave her a comfort she didn't think was possible. Not in that moment when her whole world was shattering around her, while her future citizens openly endorsed a traitor from the Isle as the Prince's new girlfriend. But in that moment when Chad closed his arms around her shaking body the noises faded away and the world seemed to slow.

In that moment, Audrey definitely knew what love looked like – it wasn't the same as the love that struck down Ben when he first clapped eyes on whats-her-name, it looked like this. It was the glow that seemed to shine from Chad as she stared up at him, his slow lazy smile didn't hold a trace of its usual arrogance and instead she seemed to see the real Chad.

So this is love.


	16. Topic of True Love

A/N: Don't even, I watched it and there will undoubtedly be more to come from DD3. Thoughts on DD3 by the way?

TAKING REQUESTS!

Duh It's a Devie, what else did we expect?

* * *

"So, true love then eh?" Doug nudged her shoulder as they sat on her worktop.

"Do you think life will be quiet?" Evie said absently, her fingers running over a bolt of fabric, staring out of the window.

"Unlikely, the bridge is open." Doug hummed, lacing his fingers through hers, gratified when her head dropped to rest on his shoulder.

"True love." She murmured and Doug smiled.

"I always knew." He kissed the top of her head and she let out a soft laugh.

"Me too."

"Then there's nothing to worry about?"

"I'm not worried." She said softly.

"Then why have you been avoiding me since the bridge was opened?"

"Because…" She paused and then shifted again, moving away from him but not unlinking her fingers with his. "Because I'm scared."

"Scared of what? Of us being together? Of the True Love thing?"

"No no!" Evie looked up at him startled. "I've longed for True Love all my life, you are my dream come true. I'm scared about my mother." She bit her lip and Doug nodded.

"Okay, that makes more sense, I know I'm not the prince she expected." Doug started.

"She's the Evil Queen, who ruined your family's lives, I know your family are accepting, and they treat me as though I am one of them, but with Mom back, it can complicate things."

"Riiiight…."

"She's still my mom Doug." Evie looked down and Doug sighed softly.

"I know that." He cupped her chin in his hand and brought her gaze back up to his. "She'll never stop being your mother, and we all know that. Go and see her."

"What?"

"Go and see her." He repeated. "If this whirlwind last few years has taught me anything, it's that you are as much Isle as you are Auradon, and you need to be proud of that." Doug smiled as she stared at him. "You were a kid with a good heart who grew up in the dirtiest secret that Auradon openly acknowledged, you're now a woman with an amazing heart, making sure other kids aren't growing up the same way." He shrugged. "Your mother is going to want to see you."

"She's not going to be proud of me."

"I think you're wrong," He stood, and gestured her to follow him. "I look at Lady Tremaine, and Doctor Facilier and I see that the timeout on the Isle did them a world of good, I think your mother will be the same."

"It's a little different, our parents were the Original Four, the Big Baddies, and the worst nightmares for the citizens of Auradon, you watched how much they freaked out when Hades almost escaped. Mom doesn't exactly have a full complement of eyeshadows in her palette."

"Stop panicking." Doug was still leading her across the garden to stare down at the Isle with its very solid and visible bridge.

"Yes. Stop panicking."

"Nothing will happen that you and I can't handle." He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back.

"Together."

"With true love on our side." He wrapped his arm around her now and was relieved to hear her laugh.

"Yes, with true love on our side."


	17. Fall from Grace

A/N: Oh look! It's a D3 story. Obviously if you haven't seen the new film it will have spoilers in, in like the first paragraph so consider this your warning!

This is a request from Guest who wanted this pairing! Enjoy!

* * *

Audrey fell further from grace than she ever thought she would. She had already fallen when Ben dumped her for Mal. She was no longer Old Auradon's poster girl, she was undoubtedly tarnished after cursing Auradon and her final act had firmly cemented her as the fallen angel of Auradon. Some had tried to play off her curse, saying she was tainted by the staff, trying desperately to swing the blame back onto Maleficent and therefore Mal, but Audrey had stopped such thoughts. She openly admitted she knew what she had been doing while she wielded that staff, and that her intentions had been to hurt those that had abandoned or scorned her.

She was a true disgrace to the oldies of Auradon now, or she would be shortly, when her latest decision becomes public. She stood before her friends, her fingers interlocked with the calloused grip of a VK's, announcing her relationship to those she held dearest. She was announcing it to them, before her family, just in case. She was smiling more genuinely than she had in a long time, and the half crazed look in her beau's eyes made her smile widen, and she gave his fingers a squeeze of reassurance. She knew he was nervous, she could see a weird sense of panic in his gaze but her own warmth gave him the confidence he needed, and he turned back to the assembled group. Harry Hook's eyes moved straight to the face of his Captain, his Captain whose expression, was unreadable and neutral.

"How mean am I allowed to be?" Celia said suddenly, shattering the silence.

"You're not." Evie admonished.

"But there's soooo many jokes!" She whined, and the sudden atmosphere seemed to melt away.

"Called it!" Uma whooped, and Harry tensed once more.

"What do you mean?" Ben queried, moving to look at Uma who was sprawled out on the bean bag.

"I totally called it. Hand over the money dragon breath." Uma in turn was facing Mal.

"This does not count!" The Queen consort was outraged.

"I said Harry had a secret girlfriend!"

"You thought it was Florence Charming…." Mal raised an eyebrow, the finer points of the bet would be vigorously argued before any money exchanged hands.

"My sister!" Chad growled from his place on the sofa.

"Hush up, I'm still waiting for the day that you admit you have a crush on Uma, and I've still got that bet open." She turned to Jay who smirked.

"Neveeerrrr gonna happen. That money will always be mine." Jay said smugly.

"You're placing bets?" Harry perked up from where he and Audrey still stood in the doorway. "On Uma and Chad? I want in." He let go of Audrey's hand and launched himself onto the pile of beanbags where Jay, Gil and Uma were nestled, Mal soon joining them.

"Hey!" Uma called out and the majority of the room fell into a humdrum conversation of odds and outrageous ideas. Ben moved from his place on the sofa and sidled up to his ex-girlfriend who had been left standing in the doorway, a bemused expression on her face.

"Did you ever think this would be our life?" She murmured, looking fondly at the pile of VKs and only slightly wincing as the noise levels rose.

"No, not once when we were growing up did I think this would be the chaos of our lives." Ben honestly admitted. "But, I don't think I'd swap it, would you?"

"As much as I adored you, _Bennyboo,_ that was a different me and no, I definitely wouldn't swap my happiness." She laughed when a pillow went soaring from the sofa to the pile, Chad's intrusion into the heated debate on relationships fired up the arguments more. When Evie grabbed her own pillow and thwacked the Princeling firmly on the head, chaos started to ensue. When Uma bopped Evie with another pillow there was a howl of laughter from Mal, who took Uma's defence of Chad as a clear sign of _something_ between the pair, it devolved into calamity. With Harry laughing his ass off, Carlos and Jane ducking out of the madness, while Jay was firmly in the middle of the battle with Gil, Audrey and Ben took one look at each other and sighed.

"I guess we should get involved?" Ben watched as battle lines were drawn and he sighed.

"After you." Audrey laughed before the pair dived in to find their other halves amongst the chaos.


	18. Nightmares

A/N: It's Show Season so I can't write as much as I would like at the moment, so the requests are all half finished, and need a little bit unpicking where it's a bit too messy. In the meantime this little piece on Audrey (I like writing her now!) is here to pacify and entertain you lovely people!

Watch this space! Enjoy :)

* * *

Audrey still had nightmares. The burn of anger occasionally ran through her veins, like a flash fire, that itch to cast a curse, the feeling of power at her fingertips that begged to be released again, it was all still there, and still a battle. But she knew how to battle her demons and devils now, she listened to her angels, and took a deep steadying breath when the temptation tickled her.

She now knew what the VKs faced, what it meant to go against yourself, your own wants and desires. The darkness occasionally tinged her vision; frustration, anger, despair and loneliness all crowded in at her lowest moments, or lurked in her head, an unseen presence she could still feel.

But she wasn't lonely or friendless anymore. When the darkness hit, she found light, solace and warmth in her family and her friends. Since Hades saved her life, the aloofness of her family vanished, they had realised that their attitude and disappointment had been part of the driving force to Audrey stealing the crown and sceptre, and they were now determined to rectify their wrongs.

Audrey was currently sat on a beach towel, watching the gaggle of people messing around in the indoor swimming pool of her parents palace and she smiled. Her family had opened their doors to the crazy mingled masses of Auradon and the Lost, and they had offered Audrey's new friends places to stay, and that's what was happening now. A gaggle of VKs and Prep kids were enjoying the surroundings of the palace poolhouse, there was a modest water obstacle course in the other pool, a waterfall in the main pool, and above that, on the old viewing platform was a small infinity pool. Diving boards and slides scattered around the edges, and Audery had never been more pleased at being able to share her home with her friends. Especially when she saw Uma's face as they walked in, the look of awe had been worth much more than anything she had felt before.

She watched the Smee twins dive deep beneath the water and chase after Winona Darling, she laughed as the King Auradon cannonballed from the top diving board, and screeched as the son of Captain Hook upturned a bucket of water of her.

"I did tell him." Uma raised one eyebrow, who had previously climbed out of the pool and was wrapped in the fluffiest blanket ever. However her words went unheard as the princess gave chase, all but launching both herself and the offending pirate in question into the pool.

Once upon a time, Audrey would never done that, she'd have thrown a tantrum and left the pool, or she would fixed the perpetrator with an icy glare and got her own back in some sickly sweet way. Now she was firmly in the centre of the chaos, living a life she never thought she would have. Her blonde hair was in a messy bun instead of under a swim hat, or in a perfectly pulled ponytail, and she was hurling herself at the gleeful Harry Hook trying to exact her revenge on him for drenching her, which included clambering up him in an unlady like manner to dry and dunk him beneath the water. She wasn't super successful that he did slip beneath the waterline briefly, as instead he pulled her off his back and half threw her into the water again.

She smiled when his arms slipped around her waist and she gave a breathless squeak when he planted a kiss firmly on her lips but before they could ruminate there was a shrill whistle. Jay stood at the side pointing at the pair in the centre of the pool.

"Audrey and Harry broke the code!"

"Code what code?" Harry murmured.

"No funnystuff in the pool." Audrey groaned.

"What like this?" He bent his head once more and kissed her again until she smacked at him.

"Now we're done for." She closed her eyes and held her breath as the rest of their friends all but launched themselves at the pair to pull them apart and dunking them as they did so.

"One penalty for Lady Audrey!" Ben decreed. "One penalty for the good Captain as well. A noodle battle to the death! Or until one of you falls in the pool. Ladies, gentlemen," he turned to the other kids assembled. "Let's go!"

In that moment, as Audrey hoisted herself up onto the floating platform, her pale pink noodle in hand while Harry launched himself up on his, almost toppling with his over confidence, the darkness and nightmares barely existed. Surrounded by the laughs and cheers of people she could now call friends, she had never felt happier.


	19. Rules

A/N: Okay there's some still in my pre D3 reserve, and this is one of them! It's an AudreyxChad piece, based on the Dua Lipa song.

Enjoy!

* * *

~One~

 _Don't pick up the phone_  
 _You know he's only callin' 'cause he's drunk and alone_

Audrey closed her eyes and stared at the name lighting up her phone screen. She hesitated, her hand reaching for the phone and then falling limp by her side.

When was he going to leave her alone? Hadn't she made it obvious yet, she had ignored him so many times, but for every time she fell off the wagon she was back at square one.

She had already made her position clear, she wasn't going to be toyed with like this, not anymore.

She had some rules. Didn't she?

No, she didn't. Her hand reached out and accepted his ongoing call.

"Hey Chad." Her voice sounded painfully false to her, but it was apparent that he didn't notice and the reason why became obvious; he was wasted.

"Howsitgoin Audrey." She heard the slick charm and felt her knees weaken but she took a deep, steadying breath. She felt her resolve stiffen, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew the situation that was about to play out; she had acted out this sorry little tableau so often she felt hollow inside. She knew he was only calling because he was drunk, and he was undoubtedly alone, so he'd fall back to her when all other options were exhausted. Which meant all the girls in whatever godforsaken club he was in had escaped his clutches.

"I'm not too bad considering it's 1am." She faked her yawn and was disappointed when he didn't react. Disappointed, but not really surprised.

She had been awake anyway, but he didn't need to know that she had been unable to sleep because of him. That was dramatic but it was half true, she had gone to bed late hoping that he would call, but he hadn't and then her mind spent an hour awhirl with why he just didn't care about her. She stared at the words she had written down, hoping that her beautiful cursive would convince her not to waste anymore time on Chad Charming, because she knew that never loved her. That was a bitter pill to swallow, but slowly she was becoming accustomed to the nasty taste in her mouth.

"Is it really?" He slurred and she sighed, cradling her phone between her ear and shoulder, sliding herself out of her bed.

"Where are you, I'll come get you." She sighed again, pulling boots on her bare feet and finding her keys.

"No, you could just come and stay with me." There was that slick smugness again and she let out a sharp breath. The moment hovered, she closed her eyes and opened them again, her gaze falling back onto the torn sheet of notepad, catching sight of her newly titled Rules.

"Not a hope, night Chad." She hung up, switched her phone to silent and pulled her boots off before diving back under her covers. She felt like she had a small victory somewhere in this sorry show, she had not done what he wanted.

Next time she wouldn't answer the phone.

~Two~

 _Don't let him in_  
 _You'll have to kick him out again_

"Audreeeeey." The voice that came through her intercom made her freeze and she stared at it in a mix of horror and almost fear. Sure, she wasn't afraid of Chad Charming, but she was afraid of her own stupidity around him.

She had managed 65% of the times he rang to shake him off or ignore him, and on a few rare occasions actually say no outright, but there was 35% of the time where her resolve wasn't always strong enough and she had caved to his brief affections. It was a learning curve and one that Audrey was struggling to conquer.

This might fall into the latter category. Chewing her bottom lip, she resolved to hide out in her apartment until the sly and devious breaker of hearts left her alone. Wrapping the blanket around her, she turned her TV down and thanked the heavens she was on the first floor.

The buzzing didn't stop, and she was forced to extreme measures, which is how she found herself on the phone to Jane.

"Help me."

"What's happened, where are you!?"

"Trapped inside my flat."

"How the hell have you got yourself locked in?!" Sometimes Jane was astounded at the lack of common sense her childhood friend had.

"I haven't...Chad is outside my door and he won't go away."

"What do you want me to do?" Suddenly Jane was all business and already grabbing the keys to her car.

"Turn him into a pumpkin?"

"I'll be there in ten." Jane hung up and Audrey stayed crouched on her sofa, eyes glancing around the windows just in case Chad was stupid enough to climb a balcony. The knock on the door made her jump a mile in the air but as she padded cautiously to the front door, the key in the lock made her relax.

She did almost squeal when Jane walked in holding a pale coloured pumpkin, but the wicked grin on the fae's face told her it was a joke.

"I told him that Hollister&Crown were supposedly having a sale." Jane shrugged and Audrey could have laughed with relief.

"You know this is much harder than I thought."

"What part?"

"I'm okay if I don't see him, but he just has that kind of smile that makes me weak at the knees." She sighed.

"It's okay, we've all had Chad blindness at some stage in life." Jane patted her arm, before pulling a huge carving knife out of the drawer in the kitchen. "Now who wants to make pumpkin pie with me?"

~Three~

 _Don't be his friend_  
 _You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning_  
 _And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him_

"You know you're better than him right?" Jane flicked a curl out of her eyes and looked at a puffy eyed Audrey with an apologetic smile.

"Doesn't change much." She shrugged. "There's something about Chad Charming that I cannot resist."

"Could not, now you can." Lonnie interrupted. "You can change your mindset, you've already done it." She picked up the coffeepot and headed to the machine to refill it.

"What do you mean?"

"She means, you would never have kicked him out, nor called us for backup before you'd have just put up with him being there for hours until he'd finished and found a new game." Jane rooted through the fridge for butter before spreading it across the newly popped toast.

"Really?" Audrey thought she was doing better in avoiding Chad's advances but last night had made her rethink her progress.

"Yes." Lonnie said firmly. "Look at your positives. You set yourself rules and guidelines. You see where things are going wrong and you want to change them."

"I suppose." She smiled gratefully as her friends put down the breakfast in front of her and then bent down for a threeway hug.

"Good girl, now eat up, we got work to do." Lonnie downed the last of her orange juice before vanishing into Audrey's bedroom on a clothes hunt.

"You don't want to go in there!" Audrey called but it meant nothing as Lonnie waved her down. She'd spent enough time at college to deal with a post sex room.

~Audrey~

When it came to one of the many events stuffed into her summer calendar, Audrey was nervous for the first time in forever. She stared at the door handle while Lonnie exited the taxi on the other side, before taking a breath and jumping out.

She knew Chad was there, she had seen him through the dark tint of the window and she shook her newly blonde hair, plastered on a smile and breezed her way out of the cab and up the stairs, linking with Jane who met her at the top.

"You're looking good!" Jane smiled as the pair, followed by Lonnie and Jay, moved into the hall.

"Hey Audrey." Evie brought over a glass of something pink and fizzy, and when the princess raised an eyebrow, she explained the new pink gin that was taking Auradon by storm. It was delicious.

For the first part of her night she was anxious to not be alone with Chad Charming, she had a new resolve and determination to break the pattern, but the longer she spent with him, the harder it became to resist his charms. Somehow, she was never alone for more than fifteen minutes, and she realised after _Mal_ extracted her from Chad's embrace that her old school friends were working like machines to ensure her rules were not broken.

"Thanks." Audrey said suddenly as Mal and her crossed the ballroom to the bar.

"Not sure what you're thanking me for." Mal's neutral expression made Audrey smile.

"Yes you do, and thank you again."

"For buying pink gin? I mean, personally I wasn't sure about it but I knew it would be a hit with quite a lot of the guests here!" Mal's small talk had gotten infinitely better in the many moons she had become Ben's princess, and Audrey had to laugh earning a wry smile on Mal's lips. "I wouldn't wish a drunk Chad Charming on anyone." She smiled again and Audrey bit back another giggle.

"I greatly appreciate the pink gin." She said with a wink and Mal briefly left her side after someone had drawn her away.

Audrey was left on the quiet side of the ballroom, staring at an exquisite space filled with her friends, she spied out everyone that had 'helped' her tonight and soon lost count, tapping her tumbler of gin with one long sparkly nail she smiled, sighed and sent a silent thanks to her friends for helping her stick to her rules.


	20. Initiation

A/N: This one might be a bit off, but I'm not sure why. I think the ending is off, but please leave a review with your thoughts!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Sorry Ben, Audrey's ours tonight." Evie smiled and Ben blinked as the blue haired girl looped the arm of the blonde and all but tugged her out of sight.

"Where are we going?" Audrey wasn't sure what Evie's game was, she was now more trusting, but she was still a little hesitant of the situation she was in. She was still trying to find her feet, and face the backlash of her curse.

"Are you scared of the dark?" Evie asked suddenly and Audrey shook her head, with a relieved sigh, Evie kept walking through different corridors, pulling the blonde along with her. Finally they stopped at a door Audrey had never seen before, and she thought she'd visited every part of the castle. The corridor was dark, and the wood of the door was gothic and wrought with iron curls. "Okay, count to ten after I leave you and knock on the door. Is that okay?"

"Evie what's going on?"

"You'll see." She grinned and with a quick hug, she vanished down the corridor the dark enveloping her once more.

With a sigh, Audrey counted to ten, out loud, because she was a little freaked out, and on ten she knocked gently. The door swung open to reveal a candle-lit room and a small huddle of hooded people.

"What's going on?" She stepped in, but there was only silence.

"Come Audrey, daughter of Sleeping Beauty, step in." The mechanical voice made her jump, and her gaze darted to the door which was now being closed by another figure.

"Who are you?"

"We are friends, we are comrades, we are one of heart, despite our differences." The same voice boomed and she squinted in the darkness. She gasped when one figure shrugged off their hood, and a head of purple hair was revealed. Others followed suit, and soon she was flanked by Evie, Jay, Carlos, Uma, Harry, Gil, Dizzy and Celia.

"What…"

"This is your induction." Uma came forward, a black cloak held out for the other girl. "Your induction to the VK club." At Audrey's continued confusion, she smiled. "Right now you need another family, and we are more than willing to be part of yours… we've all been in your place, and we know how it feels." Audrey blinked back tears as Uma helped her into the cloak, settling and refolding the hood against her back.

"Mal." Harry nodded as Mal's eyes briefly glowed green. "She's ready for you." He winked and Audrey frowned again.

"Ready for what?"

"Stand in the middle." Dizzy took her hand and stood her on the small star etched into the stone floor. Then she stepped back, and all the VKs joined hands around her. Mal's eyes glowed brighter and with a small puff of smoke, Audrey watched in amazement as the plain black cloak was suddenly shot through with gold, pink and blue threads. Colours that sparkled and seemed to fizz with energy before they rested against the fabric, shifting in the light.

"Now you're a VK." Dizzy grinned.

"Just like that?" Audrey frowned, but her question was lost in the sudden hubbub.

"Thank the Gods, now we can eat." Jay grumbled, and with a flick of a switch the room was suddenly illuminated, revealing a cosy sitting room, stuffed with beanbags, battered armchairs, bookshelves filled with books, and tables laden with food.

"We didn't know what you liked so we all made stuff." Carlos smiled and Audrey let out a giggle. She was reeling from the last fifteen minutes, and the warmth that suddenly enveloped her made her feel lightheaded.

"Oh! I almost forgot…" Gil suddenly stopped the humdrum and bought over a large, battered gold chalice. "One sip of this please!" Still bemused by the turn of events, she took the goblet to her lips and took a small sip.

"That's delicious!"

"Told you my recipe worked!" Gil stuck his tongue at Harry who rolled his eyes, the pair of pirates falling into their standard bickering.

"What was that?" She frowned again as the chalice was taken off of her.

"Elderflower and raspberry." Celia shook her head. "It wasn't part of the initiation, it was Gil trying new flavours." She shrugged her own cloak off, and left Audrey stood on the stone star while she dived into the food.

Audrey stared at the VKs bunched around the room and laughed again as they hung their black cloaks over chairs or on pegs and as she focused she could see the colours. Mal's, naturally was threaded with purple, Evie's a rich, almost Auradonian blue, Celia's was laced with burgundy, the hems of Uma's was a hue of blue that reminded her of the shallow waters near Charmington beaches. Dizzy's was finished in a bright sparky teal colour, but also splashed with hues of purple and pink, Carlos's pattern was interwoven with white, red and silver, while Jay was a deep wine red, with small strips of yellow. Harry's was also threaded with bright red, while the colours that worked through Gil's were dark burnt oranges, browns and yellows. She looked down at her own patterned cloak and finally took it off when Harry brought her over a plate of food.

"A little bit of everything." He winked. "Just what a VK like yourself needs in today's Auradon. A little bit of good, and a little bit of bad." He went to say more but Evie sailed over.

"Please don't eat the noodles." She lifted the small takeaway box off of Audrey's plate. "You'll throw up, your stomach has never had Isle food and will definitely not cope with that." She handed the box over to Jay who pulled the chopsticks out of his hair and attached his newly gained food with gusto.

"Oh?" Audrey's brow scrunched up again.

"But otherwise, you're a full VK now. Forgive me for the mystery?" Evie steered her to the beanbags and Audrey let out a laugh as she flumped down between Uma and Mal.

"Forgiven entirely."

* * *

A/N: I am completely aware that all the stories I have uploaded in the last five chapters are Audrey based, but D3 has given me a whole new field of inspiration to plough sooo she may crop up as a protagonist more and more.

That said, I am doing my requests, they are coming... _watch this space._


	21. Inner Turmoil

A/N: This is a tiny little Evie nibble of a story. It's set after D2 because I still have some to clear out from my hard-drive. It has the tiniest of domestic Devie at the end. The reason is there's a MASSIVE Evie story going up as a new one either today or tomorrow so ya know!

Enjoy!

* * *

Evie was idly sewing a new outfit while her thoughts whirled around her head. To others she was outwardly calm and focused on her work.

It had been barely a month since Mal went full dragon and saved the Royal Yacht from a turquoise cephalopod, and Evie's mind was constantly processing the events they had undergone. Specifically, the events _she_ had undergone, her return to the Isle had been effortless, she had taken pleasure on putting on her leather clothes, relishing the feel of it against her skin once more. There had been a satisfaction on buttoning up her gloves, flexing her fingers against the leather and admiring her newly painted nails, she felt her old Isle self bubbling up to the surface.

It scared her.

It scared her how easily she had crossed back to the Isle, stalked through the filthy alleys and made herself at home in the basement of Curl Up and Dye. She relished the feel of the sword in her hand, the confrontation with Uma and her ratty gang of pirates had riled her blood and she lusted for the adrenaline rush. That feeling lingered in her veins, and she almost ached for it. But now, it was tamped down by an overwhelming sense of guilt; she felt guilty for lying to Doug and every time she looked at him she felt that bitter bite that came from deceiving him.

Finishing her stitch, she looked down at the dress she had finished altering and frowned at her work. The dark blue silk felt amazing beneath her fingertips but she wanted that leather feel again. Stopping herself from scrunching the fabric, she rested the dress back on a hanger and stared at the fabric. She didn't hear Doug's footsteps towards her, she didn't see his careful observation of her expression and she definitely didn't see his small smile.

Evie may have a pretty good poker face but Doug liked to think he knew his Princess a little better than the average Auradon prep student. He knew when her mind wasn't on her work, he knew she could sew and embroider on autopilot and he saw it in her robotic stitches. He also had a bit of an inkling the path her thoughts were on, but watching her blow a lock of blue hair away from her eyes in an almost irritated huff, he decided not to quiz her. She'd tell him if she needed to, and Doug respected that.


	22. Dating Dilemmas

A/N: A requested story! MaliceMalAmyMalevFaery: Could you do a UmaxChad, HarryxAudrey, BenxMal triple date. Since Ben, Audrey and Chad grew up together they could do a triple date

Enjoy!

* * *

The first problem was deciding where they could go for their date.

Uma wanted to go to the beach, Mal, Harry and Ben were okay with that, Chad and Audrey said a most definite no. Ben then remembered just how scared Audrey was of the sea after a nasty accident when she was seven years old. There was still a scar on her hip that very few people saw. The beach was vetoed.

Chad suggested the mall, but was soon shouted down because of just how long the man could spend in Crown & Coast, and it was exhausting. Even Uma, who had not yet had the pleasure of taking her new beau to the shopping centre flat out refused to spend six hours in stores she couldn't afford.

Yoga was tentatively put forwards, but after some discussion it was also thrown out of the window. The last time they had tried yoga, Ben couldn't walk straight for three weeks because he'd pulled his back out, and Mal's shoulder still cricked. Sure they hadn't been paying attention to the teacher when the class was ongoing, but they were not risking it again.

Tip Top Tea Room was also dismissed, after Mal went rather green eyed at how they had stolen her cake recipes, and Audrey admitted that the Tip Top Tiramisu was almost identical to Mal's creation, right down to the dusting of caramel sugar on the top.

Harry suggested rock climbing but after a heated discussion, and some minor pleading to his girlfriend, the idea was also thrown out. Audrey had changed since her brush with evil but she was not chipping a nail on a rock climbing wall, not even for the beautiful hunk of pirate that was currently moulded around her.

Finally, after many hours of lazing in a sitting room, sprawled out on sofas and beanbags, with laptops and tablets now abandoned as idea after idea was suggested, argued and dismissed the six were quiet.

"How about we just go on a picnic?" Uma said tiredly and Ben perked up.

"That sounds good, why don't we go up to Merlin's Hill at night?"

"Why at night?" Mal moved from her position on the floor, lifting her head to stare at her fiancée.

"The view of the stars up on Merlin's Hill are out of this world." Audrey hummed. "Legend has it, that Merlin himself spelled the hill to ensure that it is never changed, and that the stars will always shine brightest for those that sit there." She hummed and smiled when Harry's fingers intertwined with hers.

"This sounds like a plan!" Chad enthused and grabbed at his tablet again. "We need to list what food we're going to take."

~Auradon&Isle~

That was the second problem.

None of them could decide on food to share and to take with them. It was another hour before Ben's voice shouted across the madness.

"Okay! New plan, we all bring one dish we know we will eat, and one dish that we think others will eat. Chad and Uma, you are bringing blankets, Harry and Audrey, you are bringing any umbrellas or pillows needed, Mal and I will bring the picnic hampers, all of you will bring your dishes to the Royal Kitchen side-door and we will pack everything in the small pantry. Deal?"

"Okay, what about dessert?" Audrey butted in and Ben groaned.

"Same rule, bring your own dessert and drinks." Mal cut in quickly and harmony was restored once more.

When Saturday evening rolled around, Mal and Ben were waiting patiently by side door for their friends to turn up. Audrey and Harry breezed in, Harry laden like a pack horse with umbrellas tied to his backpack, pillows strapped onto the back of the bulging bag and balancing boxes of food in his arms. Audrey came in with pillows also under each arm and a bag stuffed with food.

They were only halfway through packing when Chad and Uma knocked. They had less than Audrey and Harry, but there were huge bags filled with soft blankets and picnic blankets. It took longer than expected to leave for the short hike up to Merlin's Hill.

~Auradon&Isle~

Reaching the small summit had also taken longer than expected, Harry and Uma had asked millions of questions as the lights of Auradon fell away behind them. The interest in Auradon made the others smile, and they attempted to answer the questions. Uma had tugged Chad from place to place, staring at everything around her as they trekked through the woods. When she found a glowing fae-light, she was fascinated, when Harry found a Tickler Vine, despite being caught up in it briefly, he too was spellbound by the verdant world around him.

By the time they'd set up camp, Ben had found the candles he had remembered to pack at the last minute, and with a drop of magic, the candles hovered around their little encampment. The soft glow of the light did nothing to diminish the hunger of the six, and they attacked their food with gusto.

"Okay, who stole the Clam cakes?!" Uma's voice was suddenly heard, and she was glaring at Harry who held up his hands in defence, her gaze switched a guilty looking Mal.

"Do you know how long I've gone without Clam Cakes?!" She tried to defend herself. "I haven't eaten all of them, I ate two, the other six are yours." Mal handed back the Tupperware, and added her gingerbread cake to the top in the ways of apology.

"Oh this is so fluffy!" Uma enthused as she took a bite of cake.

"Chad Charming, give me back the elderberries." Audrey huffed, smirking when Harry lifted the remainder of the bunch from the too-slow prince.

"Make a wish." Ben suddenly whispered, drawing Mal's attention from the chocolate pot she was holding. He nodded upwards and Mal's gasp made the others bickering stop and also stare upwards. The sky was jammed full of stars, and as if by chance, when all eyes turned skywards, a shooting star rocketed passed. Mal, Uma and Harry were all on their feet, their eyes drinking in the view above them while their other halves all shared a fond look between themselves.

It may have taken a little while to plan, but this was one of the best dates any of them had been on.


	23. Permission

A/N: Guess what! This isn't a D3 story. I don't know what happened to Lonnie during D3 but she's still present in my stories!

Enjoy!

* * *

"You're asking my permission? To marry my daughter?"

"Yes sir."

"Are you aware of who my daughter is?" Shang raised one eyebrow and Jay hesitated.

"Very much so Sir."

"You're aware that Lonnie will be mad at the pair of us if she finds out this conversation ever happens." His dry tone hadn't changed and Jay blanched. "I mean, while I am absolutely thrilled that you want to marry Lonnie, and I am more than willing to give my blessing, you will need to run this past my wife first." Shang hummed.

"Of course Sir."

"Then none of us will tell Lonnie if any of us want to live?" He clapped Jay on the back and the pair threaded their way through the house to Mulan's study.

"Wife of mine."

"Really, that is your opener?" Mulan looked up from the text she was translating and took her glasses from her nose. "That is how you're going to introduce my future son-in-law, Shang I expect better of you." She smiled, crossing the room to tap one finger under her husband's chin, quietly reminding him to close his mouth.

"Ma'am." Jay bowed his head.

"Jay, you have been part of our family for over five years now, please drop the formalities. You want to marry Lonnie, excellent."

"How did you know?" Shang propped himself against the door and Mulan cast him a wicked grin.

"He behaved exactly the same way you did when you proposed to me." Her smile made both men redden, but with a very maternal look she rested her hand on Jay's shoulder and smiled softly. "Of course you have my blessing. You have the backing of both the Fa and the Li family." She cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss to it afterwards.

"Thank you." He said, humbled by the enormity of her words.

"I could be incredibly mean and make you ask every single member of the families, dead and alive, and the guardians but I would never do that, that's incredibly cruel and was reserved only for my husband." She beamed and Jay let out a nervous laugh when Shang scowled.

"I didn't need to spend hours in the temple convincing Mushu I would be a good husband!?"

"Nope." She grinned, seating herself back at the desk. "Was funny though, and made us laugh for hours." She winked at her disgruntled husband and turned back to Jay. "I suggest you go and find Lonnie now. We can't arrange a wedding unless you ask for her blessing." She smiled and with his dismissal, Jay turned and left the study.

~Jonnie~

 _Several months of stressful planning later. At their wedding reception, during their first dance to be exact._

"I know you asked Mom and Dad." She murmured in his ear, her head resting on his shoulder. She had changed out of her Qipao into a flowing teal coloured dress that floated when he twirled her in his arms. She felt him stiffen under her touch and she laughed. "I'm not mad."

"You're not?"

"I'm not, I just like that Dad was as scared as you were."

"You heard us?!"

"Of course, you vanished out of the room looking like a man who had just swallowed a ghost pepper whole, I had to be nosy." She looked up at him and smiled as he did.

"Curiosity killed the cat." He reprimanded gently.

"But _satisfaction_ bought it back." She murmured against him, the implications of her words sent his mind swimming and he pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment of what would await them later.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you more."


	24. Just Enough

A/N: Who doesn't need a dram of Devie to make your weekend a little sweeter?

* * *

She should have been devastated.

She should be weeping at the mess around her. That's what he expected as the ruins of their home sat around them. She was staring at the charred remains of their house, their empire and saying nothing. She didn't seem to be paying attention to the smouldering wood. He could still see the outlines of items in his house, he could see the twisting staircase that she had loved, that in her ecstatic moments she would whizz down the banister like an over-excited child. He could see the remains of the safe, scorched and blackened but declared okay by the fire department, knowing that inside were some of their greatest treasures like her first tiara as a Lady of the Court, and their wedding album.

He could see the twisted and melted metalwork of the jewellery pieces she had been toying with, he could make out the blobs of melted plastic that were once mannequins. Mannequins wearing beautifully made dresses, her first creations, proudly displayed in her studio rooms. There had been wedding dress prototypes, ballgowns that never made it to a waltz, they were once ideas that were to be refined but had held that original spark of creativity – all gone in the ash and rubble at their feet.

He rested his hand on her arm; it had been Evie's whole world in this house and Doug didn't know how she would react. He had heard mutterings of arson and deliberate ignitions amongst the police and the fire crew. For once the suspicion was firmly away from Evie Miner, nee Regina, Daughter of the Evil Queen, it was on the groups of dissidents, the far right who had enough of the liberal views of King Ben and were spreading upset and unrest throughout the kingdom. Doug knew his Evie, he had known her for far too long to suspect that she would slip in her temper, but there was a small part of him that wasn't sure. This fire had wiped out everything she held near and dear, he didn't think he would blame her if she released a cloud of black magic and tore apart the world.

Her fingers closed over his and she turned to smile at him. She let out a breath and raised her head to the sky. Another deep inhalation and she let her fingers lock with his.

"E."

"We start again." She said softly.

"What?"

"The stars are shining above me and you are still here. They may have taken my world from me, they have stolen my dresses, my work and my home, but they haven't robbed me of you. While I have you, I have all that I need."

"Evie." Doug moved to cup her face in his hand, feeling the tears on her face.

"I mean it. They may think they have broken me by stealing everything from my home, ruining our years of work, but they have succeeded in making me fight harder." She hummed, her arm wrapping around his waist as they held each other in their embrace.

"We'll get them E."

"I don't think I care. They cannot steal the ideas from my head, they cannot take away our motivation, our teamwork, our spirit, and they cannot break us apart. What have they actually won?"

"You don't care?" He kissed her softly.

"That's a lie. I'm going to make sure Florence Charming hunts them down like the little criminals that they are. All they have won is a hefty jail sentence, and that's not my problem." She smiled and Doug let out a bark of laughter.

"That's more like it."

Caught up in holding one another, amongst the charred wreckage of their home, they would have no idea that the arsonists had been waiting and watching. They had expected Evie's blast of dark magic and they were sorely disappointed as the pair stood silhouetted against the smouldering remains. It was that image that splashed the tabloids, and the tide stayed with Ben and his liberal court, as Evie and Doug were rendered victims in senseless terrorism.

If the arsonists thought they had won a point against the liberal politics that ruled the court they were mistaken. Evie and Doug's fightback from the fire amazed Auradon and its neighbours. She shook off the melancholy and set about building her empire back up. Doug took to the courts to ensure the offenders were caught, and it became clear to _every_ level of society that Doug Miner would chase every avenue to ensure that _all_ parties responsible were brought to justice. Including members of royalty that had thought their crowns bought them security. The fire they had started now seemed to burn through both Evie and Doug and with those flames, they would burn the diseased parts of Auradon.

They would burn, but just enough to sure that the world grew back again after they had tore their way through it.


	25. Rose Wood

A/N: A shorter nibble! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Nope." Another movement. "Still nope." More scuffling. "Nu-uh, keep going."

Ben's confusion only grew as Mal's commands never changed or wavered. It became alarm when he heard _Audrey_ give an exasperated sigh and finally he investigated the noises coming from the room next door.

"Oh." The two girls stopped at his intrusion and they both looked expectantly at him.

"Yes?" Mal raised her eyebrow and he mirrored her cool expression.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Getting married and running away together." Mal's neutral expression hadn't changed but Audrey's giggle made her crack a smile.

"We're practising." Audrey acknowledged and Ben's confusion grew.

"If you're going to watch, stand behind us." Mal said patiently and the two girls, crossed their arms and tapped their toes in tandem as they waited for him to close the door and cross the room. "Okay, you ready?" She turned back to Audrey, Ben momentarily forgotten.

Audrey nodded and in unison the two women put their hands up and moved in complicated patterns around them. Ben wanted to query what they were doing but when both women summoned a wooden staff to their touch he gasped, and then groaned. The Council of Auradon could just about handle Mal's magic, and Ben still wasn't keen on bringing the stuff back but it appeared that Mal was now teaching Audrey.

At his splutters of unformed protests, Audrey turned to face him.

"I need to control my own magic, just like Mal does hers." She shrugged and went back to her position before moving once more. Mal was now propped up on her own staff, watching Audrey's fluid movements.

"So you're what?"

"Mom's staff has a lot of residual magic, it wakes up core and latent magic in those that possess it." Mal explained as she never took her eyes off Audrey moving through different forms. "It's woken up Audrey's magic… she was a product of True Love, she was always going to have magic." Mal hummed.

"Riiiight…?" Ben had stood to watch Audrey swing her staff.

"Right now we're channelling magic into the wood, in a way it works as a restrictor, but it ensures we don't hurt people. Mom put her massive Dragon Eye on the end of hers to channel and amplify her magic outwards."

"How do you know all of this?" Ben interrupted.

"I read Ben." Mal raised her eyebrow and turned back to Audrey again. "Drop it." She barked and swiftly Audrey dropped her staff, turned and dropped to the floor as Mal rugby tackled Ben to the floor as well. Just as the stick exploded with a sizzle and a bang.

"What the …."

"Okay, so hazel is not my wood either then." Audrey groaned, standing herself upright and dusting herself down.

"Nope, back to the books it is." Mal stood as well and the two girls looked at the singe mark on the bare floor.

"What about rosewood?" Ben groaned, still slightly winded from his girlfriend's attack.

"Rosewood?" Both turned to face him, almost bemused of his acceptance of the two practising a skill he didn't like.

"You're the daughter of Briar Rose, the rose is almost central to your parents True Love. It's the wall of thorns and roses that kept your mother safe." He struggled to his feet. "You know, you should really play Tourney." He rubbed at his ribs and Mal gave him a rueful smile.

"I'll think about it, hmm we haven't tried rosewood." Mal hummed and Audrey was thinking.

"There's a small grove of rosewood trees in my parents first castle, where I was born."

"Sounds like it might be your wood then!" Mal's eyes gleamed. She grabbed her own staff from the floor and with a hurried kiss to Ben's cheek, the pair left the room in a whirlwind of excited chatter.


	26. Delays

A/N: Who knew I was still writing this fandom? Who knew I was even still writing? I didn't! Turns out if I start a new job my mind just drifts, and stories can actually happen!

MaliceMalAmyMalevFaery... this one is for you! You wanted Chad & Harry. Oh, this a naughty one.

* * *

"You know, one day you're not goin' to take forever to get ready." The voice from the bed drawled. The voice that Chad continued to ignore, as he had done for quite a while now. "There is only so many ways that your waves can sit." It continued and instead Chad leaned closer to his reflection and frowned slightly while he moved single strands of hair in his bid for perfection.

Harry Hook on the other hand was running out of patience, and the mad pirate had very little to begin with. Dating Chad Charming was testing every ounce of his sanity and he was finding himself sorely tested. The idea that suddenly struck him made Harry bite his lip, and for once weigh up the consequences (this was a rare occurrence). As it stood at that moment, they were late to Uma & Audrey's party; they were late regardless, and not even fashionably late anymore, they were just **late.** While Harry was somewhat concerned about his old Captain and what she may do to him for missing the party, his mind was now focusing on his new plan and just how badly he wanted to act on his plan.

Harry made up his mind while staring at the back of his boyfriend's head.

"Chad Charming, do you actually want to go tonight?" He shifted, his many minutes of fidgeting had rumpled his own party outfit beyond saving.

At the change of tact, and lack of whinging, Chad actually turned to face Harry and frown.

"Of course, I'm almost ready."

"How close to actually ready are you?

"I've just got to finish my hair and put on my shoes." Harry held back the groan because in reality Chad's hair should have been finished forty five minutes ago. He doubted that Chad had even chosen his shoes yet, but this all fuelled part of his plan. Slipping his phone from his pocket Harry text three people; Uma, Mal and Jay. He said sorry to Jay that he wouldn't be able to help him in the mini tourney tonight, quoting Chad problems. He told Mal that his boyfriend was a dick and that there was no point turning up now because he still had at least an hour of prep, and he told Uma he was sorry but his boyfriend was a dick and he was going to shag him silly to make up for it.

Idly waiting for the replies he smirked when Mal text him back first.

'Like that's news, hope all is okay. See you tomorrow at the charity event.'

Jay's text was littered with profanities and now being one man down. It was followed up with another text realising that the _Captain_ of the opposite team would also be absent, and a smiley face to finish that off.

Uma on the other hand appeared to have text with Audrey as back up. 'You owe us. Make sure Chad can walk tomorrow, he's meant to be debuting Evie's new branch of menswear. She will kill you if he doesn't attend.'

Plan complete, Harry dumped his phone on the table, shucked himself out of his jacket and strode across the room. He saw Chad eyeing him warily but there was barely even time for protest when he turned Chad's head to face him and kissed him soundly on the lips. Harry's wicked pleasure came from working his fingers through Chad's hair, and it was doubled when he saw the moment that Chad realised he had messed up his hair.

"That's going to take ages to fix!" He whined as he pulled away from him back towards the mirror.

"Nope, we're not going, so get on the bed Prince Charming."

"What? But Uma and Audrey?"

"They can kick your ass tomorrow, I've already made _my_ apologies." Harry grinned and kissed Chad again. The other man stood, looking outraged and scandalised, but he was soon distracted as Harry pulled him close and kissed the very breath from him. Chad retaliated in kind, hands running up and down any part of his boyfriend's body that he could and the pair all but fell onto the bed; any thoughts of parties or hairstyles long forgotten in the heady pleasure they gave one another.

It wasn't until much later, when they were stretched out and sated, arms and legs wrapped around one another in a tangle of limbs that Chad pressed a kiss to a bare patch of skin and chuckled.

"What?"

"I'm quite proud of how your patience is doing." He hummed, peppering the skin with soft kisses between words.

"Meaning?" Harry shifted slightly so he could eyeball his other half, but Chad determinedly avoided his stare.

"You used to only give me ten minutes for my hair, and even then you were a nightmare after two. This time you gave me a full half hour before you had a paddy." Harry grinned at the use of the word paddy, a colloquialism that Chad had picked up from him, but his brain soon diverted onto the rest of his beau's words. There was a brief moment of realisation, followed by a slight sinking feeling in his gut.

"You planned this?!" Harry was astounded that his Auradonian other half could actually out-villain him.

"Obviously." Chad finally met his gaze with a droll but triumphant expression on his face. "Admit it, I'm a better villain than you." Chad crowed, and Harry allowed him precisely thirty seconds of glory before he attacked. Rolling them so he gained the upperhand, all of Chad's glory Tourney days seemed pointless against the Isle raised villain atop him.

"I'ma teach you what it means to be a good villain." Harry kept Chad's wrists pinned in one of his hands while the other leant over to the chest of drawers beside their bed, opening the top one. Chad's eyes widened for a moment before a predatory look stole across his face.

"Do your worst." He stuck out his tongue for extra insolence and Harry barked out a laugh.

"As my prince commands." He murmured huskily in his ear, dropping a kiss to the skin below his ear.

~Harry&Chad~

"What did he do to him!?" Evie screech-whispered as she watched an almost boneless Chad strut across the stage.

"Do you think it makes him a better or worse model?" Mal hummed as Audrey giggled.

"I think better. I bet most people will think that your clothes make any guy feel as good as Chad Charming looks there." Audrey placated Evie. It was a good attempt until she clocked Harry in the front row of the audience.

"Or judging by the shit-eating grin that the Captain is wearing, they're gonna put two and two together and realise that Chad Charming had a hell of a good night." She fumed halfheartedly. "I'll bloody kill him when this is over."

"Which one?"

"Both of them. I'll feel so much better afterwards."


	27. Confinement & Fairy Tales

A/N: For a helpful Guest 'Maybe Ben and Evie if you're interested?'

Finally! Enjoy! Maybe I'll make this a longer piece, what do you think?

* * *

 _Once upon a time, in a land not too far from here, there lived a princess. There were many princesses, but this was a princess locked away in a castle, guarded by a fierce and beautiful but cold Queen. The Queen wanted nothing but the best for her daughter, but she found everything in their world lacking and decided nothing was good enough for the young princess. It made the princess's life very lonely._

 _But the princess found solace in secret friendships. These friends went beyond her mother's control, her mother did not know about the three people she called her friends, and she would never find out. Instead, the princess called a madman, a witch and a thief her best friends. Despite their secrecy, the four were a force to be reckoned with and they trusted one another._

 _Plans were made and traps were set, and soon the three of them helped the princess escape her cold prison and together the four ran away from the Kingdom they had once called home. They escaped to a new land with new people and new rules, but their choices had prices and tough decisions to make. To secure their freedom, the witch entranced a King to do her bidding, she kept him under her spell and the poor man believed himself to be in love with the witch. the witch stood by his side, pretending to be his Queen while she orchestrated the safety of her friends around her. But it didn't quite stay that way._

 _The witch, now escaping from her own prison back in her home kingdom realised just how different her life had come, and she had soon realised that what she was doing to the King was wrong. The witch had watched her friend the madman fall in love with a fairy of this kingdom, and when she saw what True Love was, she realised the hurt she was putting the King through. She also realised that she was in love with the thief and things changed dramatically._

 _The King was released from the spell but with disastrous effects. His heartbreak felt genuine, and the Kingdom almost fell into the hands of evil. The King had abandoned his people to hide away from his hurt, locking himself in a tower and returning to his animal ways. Instead the princess, the Good Princess stepped in to save the Kingdom from the turmoil it was currently embroiled in._

 _The good princess found herself in a bitter battle against the Different Princess. She was vicious and wicked in the way she operated, but she had many of the nobility on her side. S_ _he had strict ideas on how people should live and the good princess, having escaped such a life was determined for the kingdom to remain free and true. By doing so, the good princess found herself loved and supported by the regular folk of the kingdom, and she was staunchly defended by them when the nobles tried to rise up against her. Her sense of justice and mercy saved her from the evil ilk for the royal courts. the King finally come to his senses when he saw that the good princess was struggling, and even though the witch and the thief, the madman and the fairy were on her side soon all that goodness would be overwhelmed by the evil of his court. He stepped in and saved them all, all the regular folk, and His Princess._

 _Because that's who she was; she was his princess, destined to be his Queen, and to help him rule his land with a fair eye and a kind heart. His realisation was akin to that of his witch lover; his love for the princess outstripped his love for the witch, and his heartache for what he had lost vanished as he realised just how full of love his heart now was. And it all centred on a rather beautiful, blue haired princess._

"EVIE!" Ben hollered around the royal flats, in his hand a typed up document.

"Yes my love, my world, the light of my life?" Her voice carried from the workshop she had commandeered.

"What is this I am reading?" He crossed the apartment to find her, and he thought he had heard her giggle, but he couldn't be sure.

"Who knows, seeing as I am in here and you are out there and I am not coming to you."

"God forbid Queen Evie moves to see her King." Ben said archly, but when he opened the door his expression softened. His heavily pregnant Queen was in no fit state to move fast, and the expression on her face was one he didn't want to mess with.

"Hello love." She said sarcastically, categorically refusing to move now.

"Hello sweetheart, how are you feeling."

"Like a beached whale, but that's nothing new." She hummed, her hand running over her bump. "I'm just bored, I really wish your courtiers moved on from the ideas of confinement." She grunted as she shifted in her seat.

"Should you be sat on a stool like that?" He suddenly frowned, realising Evie was in front of her work bench and not in an armchair. The expression appeared on her face again and he held his hands up in surrender. Reminding him of the document he held in it. "Other topics; what is this?" He waved the paper and Evie laughed.

"It's the story Jane and I came up with yesterday." Evie beamed, spinning on her stool and moving carefully to her feet. She really did feel like a beached whale, and carrying twins was not an easy job. Jane had been very much thankful she was only carrying one child. "We were reallllyyy bored, the difference is that Carlos and Godmother do not lock her up in a tower." She said drily and Ben coloured. "Thankfully, she came to visit me and we decided to come up with something as ridiculous as the confinement rules that your archaic advisors still live by." She moved from the bench to the rolls of fabric she had in the room. Selecting the sea green velvet, her fingers absently ran over the ribbons in the rack on the wall before finally opting for a jet black satin.

"Is that for Uma?" He murmured, putting the story down on the table and settling himself at the other end of the bench.

"It will be." She hummed, turning back to her fabric, wondering whether to accompany the dress with a slip or an underskirt of a satiny fabric. Maybe a black one to match the ribbons? She was more than sure that Harry would appreciate his wife with a black silk underskirt and pulled the bolt of fabric with her.

"Tell me what we're doing." Ben had shucked his jacket off and watched the warm smile his wife gifted him as she undid the bow on the fabric.

"We're making Uma a dress for the celebration." Evie waddled around the desk and unrolled the velvet first before pulling out the manilla file with Uma's name on it.

"What do you want from me?" Ben rolled up the sleeves of his shirt having removed his tie already while Evie bustled as best she could with her bump.

"You're going to be my sous chef." She hummed, pointing at the huge wooden ruler on the shelf beneath her work bench which he bent to get for her.

"Your lackey then."

"When have you ever been anything else." She teased, stopping him as he rose back to his full height and lightly stroking her fingers down his cheek, she stole one lingering kiss before staring up at him. "When the babies come you'll be lackey three times over." She hummed and smiled into the next kiss as Ben pressed his lips to hers.

"King to my country, and lackey to my Queen... I wouldn't have it any other way." He murmured, his hand resting on her bum bending for another kiss,

"Kisses later, dresses first." Evie declared and Ben was left kissing empty air as his Queen turned back to the bench and found a piece of chalk. "Or maybe we'll make Uma a suit. Undecided."

"Either way kisses later?"

"Kisses later!" She promised with a heat in her eyes.


	28. Christmas Markets

A/N: Merry Christmas lovely ones! For the next twelve days there should be twelve festive DD fics! Should be, some may be late but it should be okay! This one is Christmas Markets.

It's written in more of a Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park kind of Christmas Market, not traditional European ones.

* * *

"Come on, let's go on the Haunted House." Jane begged, tugging Carlos towards the ride.

"Why is there a Haunted House?" Jay frowned, nursing his hot spiced wine jealously after Lonnie had drank almost half. "This is a Christmas fair?"

"There always has to be a Haunted House." Jane said firmly, dragging her long suffering boyfriend towards the queue. Uma and Harry looked askance at one another before the pair also decided to join them; they wanted to test how scary the house was.

The others meanwhile started to mill around the various stalls that built up the market. Evie and Audrey were distracted by one of the jewellery stands, while Jay, Gil and Lonnie had hunted out the biggest burgers they could find and feast on. Doug and Chad were surprisingly stood together, warm cups of hot chocolate and mulled wine in their hands trying to warm themselves up, both of them lightly chatting about mundane topics while the girls were still deciding on whether or not to buy the jewellery pieces they had spotted.

Ben and Mal meanwhile were wrapped up in one another; it was the first time they had seen each other in two weeks and they were making the most of each other. They would join their friends shortly but for now, after Ben's trip away to Charmington and Mal's intense revision sessions, the pair just appreciated the silent warmth of being with one another.

"Hey put each other down!" Evie called over and the pair shared one final kiss before heading over to join the small gang.

"I want that!" Mal looked enviously at the burger Lonnie was holding.

"I want nothing." Harry looked faintly green as he came out of the ride's exit and grimaced as Jay waved the burger under his nose.

"Scary ride?" Audrey asked innocently.

"I thought it was a walking Haunted House, not a Ghost Train." He grunted, sitting down briefly.

"Please don't tell me Captain Hook's son gets travel sick."

"Little bit." Gil admitted and was blissfully unaware of the dark look Harry was shooting him.

"Well that was fun! Can we do the rollercoaster next?" Jane came out looking bright eyed and excited.

"Without me, yes you can." Carlos said firmly. "There's a stall over the other side I really want to see."

"Candyfloss?" Evie turned to Doug who nodded.

"An Evie hyped up on pure sugar. Please." He said sarcastically, and ignoring her light slap to his arm, he held her hand and the pair went off to hunt out the cotton candy stall.

"Oh I want them, if it's still Nifflehiggs making it, they used to make pink and blue floss for me!" Audrey grabbed Uma and soon most of the group had converged on the candyfloss stall.

"Miss Audrey!" An older man beamed from behind. "I didn't think I'd get to use those sugars again!" Before anyone could say a word, he started to pour the canisters into his machine and soon there was a mound of cotton candy in the palest of pink and blue.

"What's special about the sugars?" Uma asked curiously.

"There's magic in them from the Three Fairies." Mr Nigglehiggs answered, sweeping a stick around the cauldron before looking shrewdly at the group gathered before his stall.

"Thank you!" Audrey squeaked as she took the stick topped with fluffy floss.

"Now, Miss Mal. Definitely got the colour for you." The man adjusted his glasses and hunted through the wall of sugar canisters behind him.

Half an hour later saw Mal polishing off her dark purple floss, Evie savouring her dark blue floss, Jane eating the blue and white swirled cotton candy Mr Nifflehiggs had made for her. Audrey had long finished her own and was staring at Uma's turquoise pile longingly. Lonnie having eaten way too many burgers had regretfully passed on a floss and instead was picking pieces off Carlos's red and white mound of fluffy sugar.

"Thank you!" They chorused and they let him serve the ever growing queue.

"Mulled wine or cocoa?" Chad mused as the passed stall after stall, some stuffed with food, others towering piles of marshmallows and fat chocolate kisses. There were jewellery stalls, baubles and trinkets displayed on others; maps of old kingdoms carefully reproduced, stand after stand with items for pets and other fluffy creatures.

Descending into another discussion about where to go next, Mal felt Ben pull her to the back of the group again. The pair traipsed behind their friends, watching with fond smiles as Audrey and Uma bickered, as Harry lounged over Carlos and Gil gave Lonnie a piggyback.

"Queen of the Isle and Queen of Auradon." Ben mused, sneaking a quick kiss while the others were distracted.

"King of the Isle, King of Auradon and King of my heart." Mal whispered back, taking the time to lengthen the kiss and the markets around them seemed to fade to silence.


	29. Christmas Lights

A/N: A little bit of an odd one for the (late) second Christmas fic. It's set much later when they would be all be older, probably with kids of their own. It's a little bit on it's own and may be woolly - I'll probably re-read it and fix it a little but for now...

Christmas Lights...Enjoy!

* * *

Evie's love of Christmas was notorious.

A chance to be as loudly festive as possible, Evie was there to spread cheer and fortune wherever she chose and many places she didn't.

It had started with her first Christmas in Auradon, but that was quite some time ago, and now there was grey streaked in her blue hair and a few more wrinkles than her mother would ever care to see. But Evie was still the same, still as strong, courageous and generous as she had been during her first Auradon Winter.

It's why her house was still covered in lights and decorations, her yard scattered with old and new decorations, and every eave was festooned in fairy lights that twinkled and shone. From her house on the hill, everybody in the valley below would look up on the 1st of December to see if Mrs Evie had put up her lights. She never disappointed.

Her house would light up the whole of Auradon and the King and Queen of Corona would swear that they could see Evie's Hearts Atop the Hill from their palace.

The bit that everyone loved about Evie's lights, is that she wasn't doing it for own joy (okay she was but there was another cause behind it), if you came to see the Illuminations, you would donate money to the charity of the year. The money raised boosted charities unbelievably; mostly because Celia was usually hustling for the first two weeks of December, and she had even stopped taking a cut now.

The 30th November saw Evie and Doug rolling out the miles of Christmas lights they had accumulated. Carlos and Jane were helping out this year, and they were fixing the plastic snowman in the yard out front while Jay had scaled one of many ladders to help decorate the highest points of the house. The conservatory had bright stars shining in each of the windows, and another star that twinkled atop its roof. Celia and Dizzy were fixing the donation boxes along the fences, while Audrey pushed pins into the signs that would decree this year's charity.

"The Hook & Line charity this year?" She called across the lawn.

"Aye, Uma and Harry said the tough start to the winter had messed up quite a few fishermen's boats so they've got extra families down at the harbour coming over daily." Doug shouted back and Audrey let out a sigh.

The winters were getting harsher and with every passing year the needy seemed to struggle more and more. Audrey had long turned over two of her castles to the needy, as had many of the other royals but Auradon was still struggling. Trying not to worry, Audrey finished the last of her signs and helped pass other strings of lights up to Jay.

It took them four hours, thankfully with younger hands to help them when their older ones got cold, but finally it was getting dark and crowds had gathered for the switch on. In honour of their charity being this year's recipient, Uma and Chad would be pressing the button, but for now they were milling amongst people, hot cups of coffee, cocoa of mulled wine in their hands, stamping their feet against the cold and watching their breath form clouds.

"Do you remember." Evie had snagged a quiet moment with Doug as they held back and looked at the groups of people around their lawn. "Do you remember the first year you let me do the Christmas tree?" She hummed with a fond smile.

"Like I could ever forget, you blew the electrics three times with how badly you overloaded the sockets." Doug said drily slipping his fingers around her arm and squeezing gently.

"Yeah well you fixed it." She leant towards him for a quick kiss.

"What's new there?" He joked lightly, earning him a smack on the arm but another kiss. "Come on, we best get up to the front it's almost seven."

The pair threaded their way back through the crowds, smiling and laughing with people, pulling funny faces at the kids milling around them and occasionally keeping an eye on Celia, Dizzy and the Smee Twins as they moved amongst the crowds collecting donations.

Mrs Evie sure knew how to throw a party, and Mrs Evie sure knew how to throw a Christmas party at that!


	30. Christmas Pantomime

A/N: A pantomime may be an English thing - I'm really sorry if it is, but it's a MASSIVE part of my personal Christmas - there's usually fifteen of us in one big rowdy party. Which is the best way to spend Christmas.

* * *

"Oh no he didn't!" The actor on the stage shouted down.

"Oh yes he did!" Jay was as loud as the kids around him and Lonnie couldn't hold back her smile. Her beau had been in Auradon for many years now, and while he mostly seemed coolly unaffected by the way Auradon operated, Christmas got to him every year.

It made him a big kid again, which was great for their kids and the multitude of the nieces and nephews they had amassed. Christmas was always a mass of torn paper, toys singing, food and chaos. Boxing Day was no better; the other family came to visit and that's how Lonnie found herself in a packed theatre watching Dick Whittington being played out as a pantomime.

Every year the story changed for the Royal Players, and each of the Royal Families of Auradon offered up their story to the Players to be the butt of the jokes for the festive season; last year it had been Cinderella, the year before Snow White. It was as big a tradition as putting up a Christmas Tree in Auradon – it gave the ordinary folk a chance to laugh and enjoy themselves at the light-hearted expense of the Royals.

Jay was just as excited as the kids, and was thoroughly enjoying himself as the bumbling character on stage was chased by ghosties and ghoulies while the brave Hero tried to fight them off. Lonnie & Jay, alongside Audrey & Chad had been given babysitting duty this year, and they had elected to ignore the tiny Royal Box in favour of sitting with everyone else along with the mass of children. Lonnie was basically in charge of the theatre gang, she had realised with a sigh when the families all discussed plans. She had all of the kids; Evie and Doug's children, Ben and Mal's, Audrey and Chad's, Uma's and Harry's, Jane and Carlos', and her own – all fifteen of the kids were sat around them excitedly chattering away to the others and being generally noisy as kids should be.

They screeched with delight when the actors started to throw sweets into the audience, and Lonnie was vaguely pleased to see that Jay stayed seated rather than grabbing for the chocolate missiles which she half expected him to do.

The others were all doing various charity pieces; Uma and Harry had headed back to the Isle to ensure that the remaining inhabitants were warm and well fed, Evie and Doug had gone west to help out at a big gathering of children's homes, Mal and Ben were hosting a huge Christmas Dinner for the vulnerable and Jane and Carlos had headed north to help out with the icy winds that had brought down powerlines and had rendered places unattainable. It was exhausting. She was exhausted, but she was also super pleased to watch the babble of children around her, her husband included.

"Why does Dick Whittington have a beard?" The pantomime dame said to one of the other characters on stage.

"What do you mean why does Dick Whittington have a beard?" The bumbling character looked mock-outraged back and then did a double take at Dick Whittington who was stood innocently to the other side of the stage, pretending to hear nothing. "Ey, why does he?"

"Because nine out of ten owners know that their cats prefer whiskers." The dame guffawed and amidst the crowds of laughing children Lonnie and the other adults groaned. The jokes got worse and worse each year but it was a Christmas tradition she wouldn't swap for the world.

Then again, she mused suddenly as the panto dame started to make their way through the audience straight towards the royal party with a rather determined look in their eyes and a wet sponge in their hands – maybe she wouldn't do panto duty next year.

* * *

A/N: Players is an old word for an acting company, sorry if this confuses anyone. If you want to, you can google something like Elizabeth I's Company of Players for an old example.

The whiskers joke may be an English thing – sorry if it is.


	31. Christmas Tree - Uma, Gil & Harry

A/N: So this is set out of canon with the Uma et al still on the Isle. Everyone gets a Christmas Tree right?

Enjoy!

* * *

It was Christmas and the harbour was bitter. The wind coming through the Strait of Ursula was icy cold and from the Isle you can see that snow had blanketed the other island. The Isle on the other hand had vicious sleet, icy winds and bitter frost hardening the ground.

Uma had huddled down in the ship, the thick blankets that had been _so kindly_ donated by Auradon Royalty were giving her some level of warmth. It vanished briefly as Harry and Gil blew into the cabin. The trio had separated from their families on this very icy day and had brought themselves to the Jolly Roger for a brief pre-Christmas meet.

With them they had brought unexpected gifts.

Gil was dragging a rather ratty looking Christmas tree with him and Harry was balancing two boxes atop one another as they made their way into the Captain's Cabin. The ship wasn't entirely draught proof, and while it was usually blissful in the sticky Auradon summers, it was bordering on hellish in the cold winter months.

Uma had been warming up extra blankets for the boys and soon enough the two had abandoned what they had brought in and wrapped themselves up in the rugs, the three sat in close proximity on the lumpy bed.

"Whatcha got." Uma hummed, looking at the box.

"Presents. Oh, I should get one of them out." Harry left the triangle and hurried over to the old ironcast stove which had a small flame flickering desperately inside. There was a crackle as more wood was added and they were soon huddled around the stove, with a battered newly acquired kettle sat atop it.

"Where'd you get that?" Gil quizzed, watching the steam starting to curl out of the spout.

"Filched it from Jafar's." Harry shrugged and both of his friends let out a low whistle. To steal from Jay and Jafar was a feat worth celebrating.

They all started to move, staying closer to the fire than before but still close to one another. The kettle started to whistle to alert them that it was more than hot enough now and Uma fished out the coffee granules she had prepared.

"Sprout coffee?" Gil sniffed as she opened the tub.

"It's Christmas!" She said almost defensively.

"It's great I've missed sprout coffee!" He said eagerly and while he waited for Harry to stir the hot drinks, he stood the tree upright. There were popcorn garlands pulled out from the box as the drinks were sniffed appreciatively, and held in cold fingers. The rings of dried clementine were lost amongst the much preferred fishbones and banana peels. Round brown orbs had clearly been picked from the tiny spit of land below Uma's house because she recognised the undetermined crustacean species that washed up down there.

She started to hook loops through the empty shells, and hang them on the branches.

The trio rummaged between last years boxes, this years box of goodies while savouring the coffee and enjoying the crackle and spit of the wood in the stove. They chatted animatedly, whether it was about the Tremaines on the other side of the Isle, or how to get Dragon Prep back for the latest prank, or even what came in on the barges the day before while decorating the tree. Finally it was deemed finished, and the sad little branches of before had been festooned in paper, greenery, baubles and there was even a small huddle of candles flickering nearby to set the scene even more.

Finishing her second cup of sprout coffee, Uma stood back to admire her tree, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders once more and smiling softly at the warmth it evoked in her.

No matter what her mama might make her work on Christmas Day, she had right now, with her boys and their tree, in their ship. It felt like home.


	32. You Tell Her

A/N: A guest requested this a long time ago. Okay, so it was September, but yes, this was going to go in Kiss the Girl but screw it, it's going here instead.

Enjoy this not Christmassy piece!

* * *

"So you're gonna tell her?" One voice quipped.

"Me?! Why me!?" The other rose in pitch.

"She's _your_ Grandmother."

 _"You're_ the reason we're in this in the first place!"

"Mee?!"

"Yes you, with your beautiful brown eyes, devilish ways and a kiss that a girl would kill for."

"Now you're just flattering me."

The bickering continued quietly, unaware of the person listening behind the curtain. There was a soft smile on the intruder's face, but the stranger slipped away when they heard the movement of the two girls.

Dizzy and Celia came out of their sitting room, and went in search of a snack in the kitchens, still arguing about how they were going to tell Grammy Tremaine. Celia's father was already aware of their relationship, he would say his friends on the other side had told him, but truth was, he wasn't stupid. He knew that Celia spent more time with Dizzy than anyone in the world, and for a conning young hustler, that was a big display of trust – especially falling asleep with her. Grammy Tremaine was their concern, Facilier had promised to say nothing until they were ready and for once the old conman was trying to make good with his life.

"What about your sisters?" Celia asked suddenly as she grabbed one of the saucepans and set a match to the stove top.

"What about them?" Dizzy said distractedly as she reached for the peppers on the top shelf of the fridge.

"You think any of them know?"

"Good question, what about Freddie?"

"She probably knows, but if I know Dad, he'll make sure she doesn't breathe a word." Her face suddenly went dark and she shuddered.

"I mean, Aunt Annie knows, so the cousins probably do… Mal does, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Jane, Lonnie, heck even Audrey knows."

"So why are we so afraid of telling Grammy?"

"Because it's _Grammy._ She made my life the scariest thing going before I came over to the Isle." Dizzy shrugged, having amassed the ingredients, the two young women began their dinner in companionable silence. It was a beautiful thing they'd learnt about one another; they could just be quiet around each other – no need for grasping conversation, awkward talk or desperation to find something to do. Instead the pair could find comfort in a sofa, two books and maybe a shared blanket.

That was how dinner was usually cooked, until Celia decided to make the dinner spicy and Dizzy would struggle to bring the heat back down again. She now had a secret weapon; a small bag of ElsaIce flakes, magically prepared snowflake that she could shake over her dinner and bring that spice level down to a manageable point, like where she could keep her taste buds and not have to wait two weeks for them to grow back again.

Grammy Tremaine didn't come back up in conversation over dinner, instead they were bickering about homework, and classes, and what to do over the weekend.

Grammy Tremaine didn't come back up in conversation for another two weeks, when she walked in on them curled up on the couch. Startled out of their position, they both stood red-faced and gaping at the older woman who stared down at them critically.

"I got bored of waiting." She shrugged and held open her arms for Dizzy to come and hug her.

"What do you mean?" She stammered as she crossed the room on autopilot.

"I got bored of waiting for you to tell me you two are dating, you're the worst kept secret in Auradon pumpkin." She raised her eyebrow, but instead of the face that induced fear, it was so obvious she was teasing. "That and your Aunt Annie let it slip three weekends ago, so I just had to check for myself, and then I knew you would tell me eventually Dizella Tremaine, but you never did and then I got bored." She shrugged, held her other arm out for Celia to come and join the moment before steering the pair to the sofa.

"Oh." Celia said brightly. "In that case, Lady Tremaine…. Hi, I'm Celia Facilier, and I am dating your granddaughter, Dizzy."

"Celia Facilier, lovely to meet you properly." Lady Tremaine grinned and then sat heavily on the sofa. "Perhaps a cup of tea Dizz?" She asked and Dizzy vanished from the room. "Mess Dizzy around and what I did to Cinderella will look like a happily ever after, understand?" Lady Tremaine's face suddenly darkened and Celia held back the smirk. Old villain habits die hard.

"Lady Tremaine, with all the respect that I can muster, I wouldn't hurt Dizzy Tremaine if my life depended on it." She shrugged and with that, the old villain sat back against the sofa with a smirk.

"Then we're going to get along just fine."


	33. Christmas Eve

A/N: What can I say, this is late?

Happy New Year?

* * *

"Hello young lady." The warm baritone made Audrey turn back to face the happy festivities and she looked up in awe at the bearded man before her. "Thought I'd forgotten you?"

"Well I did a little bit." Audrey admitted. "I know I don't deserve presents this year." She shrugged and pulled her thick coat around her shoulders a little tighter. Winters in Auradon were always cold but tonight the wind felt more bitter than she had ever felt before.

"That's exactly why I'm out here with you." Father Christmas came to stand beside her and look out at the twinkling lights of Auradonia.

"I don't understand?" Audrey looked up to see that Father Christmas was smiling and not frowning.

"I am here because of _that_ thought. You understand that you shouldn't get presents this year, because of the curse you laid upon your home, your family and your friends." Santa's voice rumbled and Audrey stared hard at the church tower opposite her, determined to not cry at the gentle words she was hearing. "By that very logic I am going to offer you one small gift." He reached into his bag and held out a tiny box for her.

"It's not coal is it?" She smiled with watery eyes.

"Ah, you'll have to open it and see." She held her breath as she pulled the bow open and lifted the lid. Inside was two tiny diamond earrings, the small egg shaped stones were hanging from plain silver hooks and despite the tiny size, the significance of the gift made her tears fall freely. She knew that two years ago, she would have freaked out and thrown a tantrum at the "paltriness" of the gift, but the tiny stones meant so so much more to her now.

When she looked up to say thank you there was only a puff of gold and red dust, which soon vanished on the wind. When Audrey turned back to the social group she was amazed to see them all waiting for her, looking expectantly in her direction. At first she was hesitant, but clutching the earrings to her chest she made her way back into the room.

"Merry Christmas Audrey." Mal stepped forward and held out a present. "We know you didn't want to be here, and that the last few years have been awful for you but let's rewind that." She half shrugged and Audrey held back the initial feeling of distrust, but she took the parcel from Mal and slipping the earrings in her pocket she knelt to open the gift.

Inside was a stunning white gold tiara, with pale pink and blue stones glittering in the candlelight.

"Oh!" Audrey looked up from the gift to see Mal's anxious face.

"I told Evie what we thought we should get you, and she designed this. If you don't like it we can amend the designs." She was fiddling with the sleeve of her top and Audrey felt tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.

"I love it." She choked out, her gaze falling on Evie who looked as nervous as Mal.

"We didn't know if the design was completely you but we hoped so." She had stood beside Mal and Audrey carefully rewrapped the tiara and stood. Without thinking it through, she threw her arms around both of the girls and held them closely.

"Thank you." She choked out, and was grateful when they hugged her back. "I'm so sorry."

"That part is over and done with." Mal said softly. "Next year is a new year, and there's no better time to start again than Christmas."

"Thank you." She murmured again, picking up the tiara again and fishing the earring box back out of her pocket. "Oh they match." Audrey stared in wonder, realising the diamonds were slightly tinged pink, just the faintest shade of colour when held up to the light and she smiled around at the gathering of people.

"Will you come and sit with us properly now?" Lonnie asked, moving over on the sofa so that Audrey could join her.

"Yes, please." She murmured as she crossed the room with her gifts held tightly in her grip.

"Excellent, because I still have my present to give you, and while it can't top a tiara, I'm hoping it will make you smile." Jane beamed, diving under the tree to find her gift.

"Oh no." Carlos sighed, ducking the pillow that Jane lobbed at him before she came up trumps with a squashy present.

"Why oh no?" Doug handed Evie another glass of mulled wine before she sat down on his lap.

"You'll see." Carlos sat himself back down as Audrey delicately pulled apart the wrapping paper.

"It's a….?" She looked up at Jane's beaming face and her eyes darted to Carlos for help.

"Jane has taken up knitting, and decides everyone needs _something_. Luckily for you Audrey you get the first proper item, a scarf." Carlos said tactfully and Audrey pulled out the long curling up woollen scarf and smile widely back at Jane.

"It's excellent." She ran her fingers over the uneven stitching and felt the softness of the wool. "Blue and pink, just perfect." She laughed and accepted Jane's bear hug willingly.

"Unfortunately that's the only item I've managed to make, it's taken me ages. Sorry guys!" Jane apologised to the rest of the group while Audrey wound the fabric around her neck. The blonde princess looked at the mish-mash of people around her, felt her gifts in her pocket, and the scarf around her neck and felt, for a first time in a long time, that she was home.


	34. Meet the Family

A/N: This one was a request – Silverwolf 12th September

Enjoy! Maybe it's rushed, but there's a lot of deities, and maybe this will span into an arc of its own. Who knows!

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" The voice made her pause for a moment, but she nodded her head and steeled herself.

"I spent sixteen years without a proper family, now I have the chance to meet the rest of them, I want to." Mal said firmly and the voice next to her sighed.

"Fine, I better get ready." Hades stood, shrugged off one ripped and tatty coat, and pulled on another, darker coat, with blue flames embroidered around the hem and a shimmer of magic in the fabric. "Coat's been dead since the barrier was closed, now that my loving daughter opened it once more, it's got its magic back."

"Right then." Mal now looked down at her own outfit. It was a more casual court dress, in a soft mauve shade but her father now looked more Godlike than she had ever seen him. She felt underdressed.

"Well let's go." Hades picked up his ember, threw it once in the air before his eyes shone blue and he drew a door outline with his stone. A door shimmered into being, and Mal took a deep breath.

"Should we knock first?" She murmured and Hades stared down at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"You've spent too long in Auradon kid." He shook his head, but nevertheless he knocked twice on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer.

"Hades!" A cacophony of voices, all with varying emotions behind them seemed to deafen Mal as she walked in behind her father. She may be a Queen of Auradon, but these were Gods, and she was more than a little nervous.

"Guess I'm back." Her father drawled and there was a soft beat of silence before there were footsteps and someone threw their arms around his neck.

"Hades where have you been?" The voice was muffled into his neck.

"On a spit of land called the Isle of the Lost, banned from doing magic." His voice sounded suspiciously watery but Mal said nothing. Until she caught the eye of the woman who was still in his embrace.

"Oh." The woman pulled away and then stared at Mal. She looked like a rocker chick, a leather jacket hung off of her shoulders, which she straightened, her hair seemed to change colour in the light, and Mal couldn't decide whether she was brunette or auburn haired. Her dress was artfully torn in places and seemed to glow slightly, and the weight of this woman's stare seemed to fizzle in her bones.

"Hello." She waved and she felt the gaze of every god and goddess in the room zone in on her.

"Hades who is this?" Another woman, still sat on her throne was looking at purple haired girl with interest.

"This is my daughter." Hades pressed his hand on Mal's shoulder.

"Not born by my daughter." A third woman was glaring at him and he shook his head.

"No Demeter, not born by my wife." Mal froze and stared up at her dad. "Born by Mistress of Evil, while we were trapped on that terrible piece of land. Thanks for coming to find me by the way." He said archly and the hostility in the room changed.

"Hades…" A man that could only be Zeus stepped forwards. "Kindly introduce your daughter to us."

"Olympians, this is my daughter Mal, daughter of Maleficent, Queen of Auradon."

"Oh!" The woman who called herself Hades' wife was still looking at Mal closely. "Maleficent's daughter! Lovely to meet you, I'm Persephone."

Mal's hesitation was barely perceptible as she held out her hand to the woman that now turned out to be her stepmother. Hades saw it though.

Despite everything Mal had said to him about his abandonment of her, he had spent a lot of his time stuck on the Isle, watching over his only Isleborn daughter and he knew enough of her habits, including her twisting her rings on her fingers when she was thinking, and the soft pout when she was nervous. That's what she was doing now, a small pout but hastily covered with a smile.

Persephone however seemed pleased to see Mal, and even more pleased to see Hades, and any family disagreements wouldn't happen today. Instead, it was Persephone who linked her arm with Mal's and introduced her to the clan. Demeter was still aloof when the pair came to her, but Persephone whispered something to her mother and the old woman stared hard at the purple haired girl and frowned once.

"I suppose you are right summer child." She said before smiling slightly. "You're not right about that darn jacket though." She said archly.

"You will spend most of your time in Auradon?" Hera asked as the family settled once more.

"My time will be split between my kingdoms, I may have opened the barrier but there is twenty years of strife to help alleviate, and the many feuds and fights before that." Mal said, twisting her engagement ring while chewing her bottom lip.

"Sounds like a noble use of time for a Queen." Hera nodded in approval and before they knew it, it was time for Mal to go home.

"Are you staying here dad?" Mal asked and there was another moment that moved around the room.

"My home isn't here, it's down in the Underworld, I imagine after so long I've got a chunk of work to do." He looked to Persephone who laughed.

"You think I can't look after the Underworld for six months of the year?! It misses you though."

"So I'll probably be there, unless you need me." Hades murmured. "But for now, I will take you home and back to Ben." He still shuddered slightly at the name, making Mal laugh. "You want to draw the door?" He held out his ember.

~Bal~

"So you have how many aunts and uncles?" Ben said as he crawled into bed beside Mal.

"Too many to count in reality." She hummed and snuggled closer.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she sighed.

"I don't know. It was a bit mad, and I felt so out of this world with it all." She admitted and Ben wrapped his arm around her and pressed kisses to any part he could reach.

"Your dad's a God, it was always going to be a little bit mad." Ben sighed. "And you thought being Queen was hard."


	35. Night Falls

A/N: I haven't enjoyed posting recently, you might have noticed but there's this AU piece inspired by the D3 song Night Falls. (Duh). Obviously, the words are not perfect to the song but you'll get the picture!

Enjoy!

* * *

They had been distracted. That's what Mal would blame when the guards circled them but as she lowered her sword from Uma's throat the pair shared a look before looking back to the circle of blue and yellow liveried soldiers.

"I imagine Auradon sends its regards?" Mal quirked an eyebrow but silence met her words, if anything the guards shuffled closer together, making the ring around them tighter. She saw Evie, trapped with Harry and Carlos to her left, while Jay and Gil seemed to have double the soldiers on their right. Swords were still held loosely but for now there was a strange sense of silence between the groups.

"Good job men." A snobbish voice cut the quiet and Mal suppressed a groan. Catching Uma rolling her eyes, the pair shook their heads and Chad Charming rode into view.

"This could be a little tricky." Uma murmured.

"They've got us outnumbered, but…" Mal shrugged, eyes darting over the set faces of the soldiers before her.

"You thinking what I'm thinking." Uma's voice suddenly murmured and Mal cocked her head.

"Might be." She said from the corner of her mouth.

"We'll hit from the front, break the circles." She whispered, all while Chad Charming was lording it over the trapped Isle inhabitants.

"We'll counter from behind once we're back together." Mal nodded, and with a glance at her gang, both she and Uma suddenly swung their swords out, breaking their own circle and surprising the soldiers. The clash of steel had Chad Charming retreating, while Uma broke right to get to Jay and Gil, while Mal had rejoined with the other three. The soldiers fell back in fear and there was a quick ripple of amusement amongst the Isleborn.

"Steady guys!" Mal roared as the Auradon army moved forwards and it seemed to Chad that there was chaos, however he didn't realise that the Isle were far better at scattered fighting than his own men were. Soon Mal and the others seemed to be gaining headway, the Auradon Defence falling to wild moves and unknown tactics. Before they could even think of regrouping, the blue haired witch had slid between the closing gap and caused another point of weakness.

"I got your back!" Harry called as one soldier went to sneak up on her, but the ringing steel sent him on his way.

"Hold the line." Uma shouted to Jay as another man fell to his knees before her. The thief did as he was bid and with a whirling sword he pushed back another four of the Defence. Gil came from nowhere, defending the blow that had been sure to finish off Carlos, while Uma and Mal worked stealthily through the carnage towards a terrified Chad. Having been thrown from his horse which had long since bolted, the blonde was struggling to stand and soon he realised even his personal guards had been hauled into the fray. He was alone. Going to grab a sword, he found the metal tip of a different blade at his throat and he looked up into two pairs of devilishly happy eyes.

"Shall we?" Uma winked and spun suddenly as a Defence tried to hit them from behind. Dispatching the nuisance, she realised that Mal had already gagged the hapless prince and with two soft calls of retreat, the Isle Born vanished, taking Charming with them. They left chaos in their wake, with men scattered across the small courtyard wounded and shocked at the ferocity of the counter attack.

~Isle~

"So what happens now?" Evie was tending to Gil with witch hazel, tugging on his hand when flinched and tried to pull away.

"What do you mean?" Uma turned from the window to look at the blue haired woman.

"We just worked together as a team…" She said pointedly, finding a bandage and strapping it around the wound.

"The battle's done now." Mal grumbled, unhappy to have the Serpent Prep gang in Evie's house, but the princess brooked no argument. Both Gil and Jay had taken hefty blows, and both needed help. She had sharply told Mal that until the night falls, the Serpent Preppers would be in her house.

"Strip." The command had everyone staring at Evie, but she was looking pointedly at Gil who pulled his jacket across his chest in defence. "Now. That one won't stop bleeding without stitches." She tapped her toe impatiently and Gil's eyes darted to Uma who was frowning.

"Why would you stitch him back together?" The sea-witch asked and was surprised to hear Carlos laugh.

"Why wouldn't she?" The white-haired man was strapping up Jay's ribs and frowning as he stuck the last piece of tape down.

"Well…this is my crew, and we're your enemies."

"Right now we're on the same side. We're united by a common enemy." Harry said tiredly, running a hand over his face and wincing slightly. The movement wasn't missed by Evie.

"Let me guess you're bleeding as well." She grumped and at his silence both Uma and Mal sighed. "Girls, put him on the sofa." She nodded to the two women, and Harry looked up in alarm as both his Captain and the Evil Fairy advanced towards him.

"It's not tha' bad!" He said worriedly, but his protests were ignored as Mal and Uma grabbed him under the arms and hauled him to the chaise that Jay and Carlos evacuated. The pirate's groan told them all they needed to know about his wound. By the time Uma and Mal had wrestled him out of his jacket and shirt, Evie had numbed, cleaned and sewn up the gash on Gil's side. She advanced on Harry who tried to leap up from the seat but found himself held in place by his own Captain. "Traitor." He growled, and earnt himself a smart slap on his shoulder from the sea witch.

"Hush it, you're bleeding all over the chaise." She reproved. It would still take Carlos, Mal and Uma to sit on the pirate as he thrashed around and tried to make his escape from Evie's care.

A few hours, several swear words, some unhappy grumblings and some sharp words later would see a sense of uneasy calm in the Castle-Across-The-Way.

"So what now?" Uma said from her pile of ratty blankets on the floor by the fire.

"We could work together?" Evie's voice was met with a beat of silence that devolved into laughter. She huffed, and said nothing more.

"We couldn't do that E." Jay chuckled.

"Why not?" Gil piped up.

"Well, we're enemies." Mal's tone was dismissive but there was another moment of silence after her announcement.

"We don't _always_ have to be on the same side." Harry cut in and at the curious looks he continued. "When the AD idiots turn up, we could help each other…. When we have a common enemy." He shrugged and then winced as he pulled at the stitches.

"…That could actually work." Carlos admitted and after looking Mal, who glanced at Uma.

"We could have a truce in that manner." Mal offered.

"I will agree to the Night's Fall truce." Uma nodded, holding her hand out, smiling slightly when Mal took hers.

"The Night's Fall truce it is." The pair shook on it and the politics for the Isle-born shifted.


	36. Tomorrow

Inspired by Tomorrow, Bugsy Malone song. Song is on youtube if you need it!

Originally it was going to be UmaxHarry, but it didn't feel right. Enjoy!

* * *

Uma unwound the tape from her feet and shook out her hair from its tight bun.

'Tomorrow never comes.' She thought sourly as she stared up at the door where old Beast had kindly ejected her from. It had been a kind rejection, others had not been so gentle with her, but his delay tactics were nothing new, and she wasn't stupid. Her naivety had died a long time ago. It was always tomorrow. She scoffed under her breath, and massaging her scalp lightly, she stared at the empty bar around her.

She was supposed to be grateful that Beast had given her a job at Dames & Dappers, but after watching Audrey dance night after night on the stage she longed to be on, Uma was starting to feel a little jaded. But that tiny little spark of hope kept her going, that one small bead of hope that still fluttered away inside of her.

It looked like Gil had closed down the bar for her; knowing the audition was important to her, he had done most of her work for her and she had never been more thankful.

As Uma sat, staring at the darkened saloon bar around her, she took out her tap shoes instead, and sliding them onto her feet, she felt a burst of energy rush through her veins. Mentally picking her favourite childhood song, she could almost hear her momma crooning to her as she danced around their threadbare living room, Uma stood and started to slow tapdance her way around the bar.

 _Tomorrow never comes_

 _What kind of a fool_

 _Do they take me for?_

 _Tomorrow_

 _A resting place for bums_

 _A trap set in the slums_

 _But I know the score_

Moving herself softly around the room, Uma felt the childhood passion surge through her once more. Her body felt light and lithe once more, the aches of cleaning seemed to fade, and her knee which had pained her during her audition barely bothered her at all.

She looked briefly down at her shoes, remembering the day her momma brought them for her. They had been second, third or maybe even fourth hand; the tap plates had almost worn away, and even the soles of the shoes had seen better days. But old Cap'n Hook had given her some of his leftover metal scraps to replace the plates, and the soles of the shoes had been repaired by Aunt Cruella, and there they were, a beautiful pair of tap shoes that meant the world to her.

Even now as she moved her way around the bar singing her soft childhood song, voice filled with longing, the love of being a dancer came back to her. But she slowed to a stop at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and there she saw one of Audrey's dancers; Chad Charming. Pretty blonde thing that had always smiled and said hello to her.

 _Anyone who feels the rhythm_

 _Movin' through em_

 _Knows it's gonna do em good_

 _To let the music burst out_

She took a breath, and picked her song back up once more. Her voice wavered only slightly feeling his eyes on her, but she moved slowly on. Instead Chad slung his jacket over the bannister and slowly he danced with her. He took his cue from her movements, and Uma's voice strengthened again. They never touched, but instead circled one another slowly, parting occasionally to dance alone, but never for long. Despite his lack of tap shoes, Chad seemed to match her well and Uma couldn't help but smile.

 _Won't take no for an answer_

 _I was born to be a dancer now_

 _Anyone who feels the rhythm through em_

 _Knows it's gonna do em good_

 _To let the music burst out_

 _When you feel assured_

 _Let the people know it._

 _Let your laughter loose_

 _Until your scream becomes a love shout_

The bar came back into focus once more, and the spell seemed to have broken. Chad had picked his jacket up once more and had started to leave until he turned back to face Uma. He held out his hand, and picking up her bag and her coat from the bar, she left the bar as well. She pulled the keys from her pocket and safely locked up behind her, and let Chad Charming lead her out into the quiet street.


	37. What Good Deeds?

A/N: This seems reminiscent of one I've written before. So I've changed it and drawn a little something-something from Wicked to aid and abet this nugget.

UmaxChad angsty piece.

* * *

Uma strode furiously around the ship, listening to the creak of the timbers as the waves boiled up around them. Her magic was almost impossible to control and she felt the anger roll through her, taking magic with it.

She had stared in horror as Chad had been hauled back by the Royal Guards, his eyes searching for her face only once as she remained hidden from the Guards that so desperately sought her. He had given himself up for her.

Half mumbled spells at her lips, she thought of everything that her mother had once taught her, of all the spells she could half read from the Godmother's book, all of it and more spouted in the hope that she could save Chad.

Closing her eyes as the pain of memories threatened to engulf her, they suddenly snapped open and her usual brown irises now sparked bright blue sparked with magic.

"No good deed goes unpunished." She hissed. She had tried to be good, she had tried to follow the rules – look where it had got her. The memories rolled once more, and faces swam before her. Sweet Harry fallen for her, so had Gil, even Mal hadn't been able to save herself while trying to save Uma.

Her turquoise blue magic had once been compared to the smoothest, finest sea, the colour of a summer sky, the calming waters of the mountain lakes, now thought it was tinged with grey. It was now a colour that promised storms on the horizon, it promised mischief and mayhem, and her anger and hurt revealed a darkness that started to build beneath her skin.

Catching sight of herself in the mirror, Uma was held by her own appearance, she could see the darkness in her gaze but the anxiety that rested beneath it. Had she only wanted to be good to win favour? Was there a true grain of goodness in her, or was it all a sham – a performance that she put on for the right audiences? To curry favour, and make the right people give her praise and love?

Wrenching her gaze from the mirror she looked out of the Captain's window at the stern of her ship, out at the waters that frothed as her magic seeped into the air and she was furious all over again as the candy floss pink aura of her old friend flooded into her mind.

Are good deeds just for those that seek the limelight? Are they nothing more than flouncing in front of the right people and lapping up the praise that follows? If that's all that counted for a good thing, then maybe, just maybe Uma was sick of it. The façade of a Good Thing had fallen and now Uma was realising that there was no justice, no mercy being shown to her at this time in her life, nor any before that.

She had just watched the man who had loved her being dragged away to a fate that could only be worse than death, despite her hastily whispered words, her hopes resting on incantations she didn't fully understand. She had once watched her best friend choose a lie over their friendship; she had offered her hand to Audrey when they were almost collared in Auradonia, but the pink haired princess had hesitated and while she had once had Uma's blessing, now only anger moved through the sea-witch.

Uma's heart hardened against the world.

Let all of Auradon be agreed, she was going to embrace that wonderful wicked witchery so many had thrown at her before. She would never attempt another good thing again. She had failed in saving those she loved, and so she wouldn't try anymore. She had been persecuted for saving those without a voice, the elite had come down on her hard while she worked to save those around her.

The world had punished her, so she would punish it back. Striding from the cabin to the empty deck of her ship, her magic moved around her, and she commanded it to loose the sails and haul in the anchor that held her in the safety of the cove.

Hearing the sharp chatter from the waters around her, she glanced over the side to see all manner of sea creatures beside her, each appeared as determined as she was. By invisible forces the Sea Witch unfurled her sails, turned about and left the safety of the cove to wreak havoc on the land of Auradon.

Why bother with Good Deeds?


	38. Survivor

A/n: It's been a while. Pinkcrazyness asked me if I was ever going to update. Here we go! A Maleficent themed update.

Enjoy

* * *

There was one mistake that Maleficent would never admit to.

Her mistake was Hades.

If she was being honest with herself, the mistake was the emotion she had felt for Hades; it had been indescribable. She had never known the emotion that he had evoked in her. She had been a fool.

She had now realised his plan. He had thought he would be the undoing of her, oh how wrong he was.

When he had wormed his way into her heart, he had woken her heart, made it beat, made her feel and then he had tried to shatter her. He had tried to break the Mistress of the Universe. She amended her previous statement - what a fool he had been.

Maleficent was many things, but at the top of that list was survivor. Maleficent was a Survivor. She had toughed out a childhood that would make the devil weep, she had beaten the cloying sweetness of royal family, and she was sure that she would survive the exile. She was also chalking up 'surviving Hades' onto that list.

They had been banished to that horrible spit of land, and battles raged across the small chunk of rock for dominance, with loyalties won and bitter spats escalating. He had approached her, he had sought her out while she made her home and had offered himself to her.

His warmth was worth everything on those bitterly cold nights, and the pair would cocoon themselves together while her influence creeped across the Isle. But then he had broken her heart, dashed it like the first convoy of aid boats on the Isle rocks and Maleficent felt pain. She felt pain like she had never felt before, it tore her in two and was almost strong enough to break the barrier.

Almost. Even her luck didn't stretch that far.

Now as she stared at herself in the mirror, ignoring her tiny toddler gumming away on a toy dragon, Maleficent closed her eyes and concentrated. She poured her anger and pain into reconnecting with her magic and when she opened her eyes the thrill that ran through her to see those green irises back again made everything a little brighter.

 _Thought I couldn't breathe without you, I'm inhaling_

She held her breath for a moment but then took a deep breath, she smelt the decay and the rot of her home around her, perfect.

 _You thought I couldn't see without you, perfect vision_

Now she studied herself, the magic seemed to hum beneath her skin, it was making her glow while her hair loose around her horns glossier than it had in months.

Finally satisfied with what she saw, she stepped away from the mirror, sparing a glance at her offspring she threw open the doors and stepped onto the balcony. She surveyed the scene with distaste but a small smirk played at the corners of her lips. This Isle had no idea of what she was capable of.

 _You thought I couldn't last without you, but I'm lasting_

Taking another deep breath Maleficent finally spotted the tuft of blue hair wending its way through the garbage filled streets and she let out a shriek of laughter.

It was bone chilling, it stopped every person on the streets below and they looked up in fear and surprise.

Maleficent had been missing for months, though it was common knowledge she had given birth, everyone questioned who sired the child. Only now as dissent had begun to spread amongst the inhabitants, her shriek brought everything crashing back to earth.

 _You thought that I would die without you, but I'm living_

Maleficent's eyes roamed the people below, many of whom had started to scurry and hide away from the vicious woman above them. Nobody wanted to be in her crossfire, but her gaze was soon riveted on one figure. One man with the blue hair that was staring up at her gobsmacked. She could see the shock on his face, and she was thrilled.

 _Thought that I would fail without you, but I'm on top_

She knew that Hades had used her emotional weakness, especially while carrying his child to his advantage. He exploited her, and she gave him credit for that but now Maleficent was **back**. The Mistress of the Universe was back to being the Queen of the Castle and she was never going to lose her title or her heart again.

 _Thought it would be over by now, but it won't stop_

She could see as plain as day the look on his face, he was horrified that she had bounced back, she would tear him apart and as he dazedly walked forwards, towards the balcony she summoned every ounce of energy she had.

 _Thought that I would self-destruct, but I'm still here_

Hades had got close enough to see the glorious woman before him and when his gaze fixed towards her eyes he shuddered. The bright green irises meant that he had failed. He had played his hand too early, and now Maleficent had a dram of magic. Not much, but more than he did and that meant he was in trouble.

 _Even in my years to come I'm still gonna be here_

"Now what." She murmured. Her voice was quiet but the street had emptied itself, everyone else was rightly terrified of the woman before him. "I'm going nowhere Hades, so it looks like you'll have to run along." She sneered and with one last piercing shriek, she vanished inside the castle and left the cold wind blowing around Hades in her wake.

"Shit." His voice was hoarse and he darted a look either side of him.

Maleficent really was a Survivor.


	39. What a Wonderful World

A/N: This was originally going into ASMR Auradon, but it's too much of a family story rather than just an Evie centred story so it's aesthetic didn't quite work.

Enjoy!

* * *

Sometimes Evie couldn't believe that her path in life had brought her this far.

She watched the birds soar over her head, shadows against the brilliant blue sky, she closed her eyes and felt the sun warm her face and she breathed slowly, savouring every moment she had. She could smell the salt in the air from nearby ocean, she could smell the food cooking from the barbecues nearby and she was aware of everyone around her. She could hear Doug's whistling, hear Mal's singing while Jay strummed his guitar. She heard Lonnie and Audrey laughing, all noisier than the ocean that she usually could hear.

What had felt like a lifetime ago, she and Doug had abandoned the city for the coast and they settled into the sunny slowness of their coastline. They still worked, Evie still designed and made dresses, Doug was still a consultant for whoever needed his skillset, but with their small shack on the south coast, the pair learned new things.

They learned how to build a house, Evie knew DIY as it was, a childhood on the Isle taught you how to patch leaks even if the teaching had been sporadic and crash-courses, when the wind almost tore the roof off, Evie knew how to batten down the hatches. They learned how to catch and grow their own food. They had blazing rows, but they made up with just as much passion. They waved away the royal builders that Mal and Ben sent, but they welcomed their friends with open arms. They had Harry build another crazy shack in the plot of land next door; the pirate trio missed the ocean too much and having Uma as a neighbour had perks.

The houses had grown haphazardly, adding whatever room they had learned to build, and there was no semblance of order or aesthetic. It was a crazy eccentric mess that suited the life Evie and Doug had started to build.

But at that very moment, an older Evie was stretched out on her sun trap roof terrace, and she listened to the noises of her family and friends with an appreciation of being away from the madness. It was Carlos who came up to find her. He slung himself into a different chair and waited for her to open her eyes.

"Who sent you." Evie's eyes remained firmly shut, despite knowing it was Carlos who had intruded on her peace.

"Nobody." His hair had always been white, but every strand was snowy white. Evie blamed the fact he had Jane had opted to have four children of their own, and still teach the masses of Auradon.

"Liar." She smiled and heard him chuckle.

"Ben sent me to collect you. You're needed as a mediator between your husband and your son in law."

"Which one."

"Shang."

"What's the argument this time?"

"How to bbq chicken properly."

"Oh niblets, really. That's the third time this summer" Evie finally opened her eyes. "Why isn't Lonnie or Jay getting in on this? Shang's their son as much as my son-in-law."

"Oh yes, that's true _but_ Aurelia is siding with them and staying out of it."

"Cowards." Evie stood and stretched. The years of joy had given her a few wrinkles (she thought often of her mother's horror at her well earned laughter lines), and grey streaked in her dark blue hair but as she set herself between her warring family she was every inch the fierce young princess she had been when she first set foot in Auradon.

She kicked both men away from the barbecue with fleas in their ears and finished the cooking herself. She gave a sharp whistle that still sent adrenaline through her three children's bodies despite the fact they were in their twenties, and within fifteen minutes, not only was peace restored but the first round of food was being served.

Evie took another break about an hour later to watch the quiet buzzing activity of the family she loved. She saw Doug debating with Gil, she watched Harry and Uma tell off their youngest child, who was still a teenager, while Audrey and Chad were passing out the drinks. Mal and Ben were serving up the burgers, Carlos and Jane trying to harangue their youngest into eating squash noodles. Her own brood of children had laid the table and brought all of the food out of the fridges and were finally eating. Aurelia was quietly arguing with Shang, no doubt for calling Evie down from the terrace and setting off the military precision Evie could exact out of her family. In fact if the blue haired mother had moved closer she'd have heard them.

"I blame you." Aurelia half hissed as she spooned salad out.

"For what?!" Shand wanted to be outraged, but he could feel Mama Evie's gaze.

"For arguing with Dad! You got Uncle B involved, and you know he has no patience for that!"

"I didn't think he'd get your mum!" Shang had reached for the bread now.

"What planet are you living on darling, Mum is the Queen of Negotiations. You know this, I know this. The whole kingdom knows this!" Aurelia heaped a spoonful of coleslaw onto her bread and took a bite, savouring both the flavour and the look on her other half's face.

"Coleslaw on bread, I will never get used to that Aurelia Miner." He grumbled. "Yeah but I also like the way I bbq chicken."

"Then just ask Dad if you can make your own?" Aurelia raised her eyebrows and facepalmed at the dawning comprehension on her husband's face. "Remind me why I love you." She shook her head.

"Because I make a mean curry." He kissed the top of her head and laughed.


End file.
